Augmented Reality Will Change The World Very Soon

First of all, I'm not going into a detailed explanation of what AR is. Basically, it's overlaying digital information on top of physical reality. Ever played a FPS (First Person Shooter)? The HUD (Heads-Up Display) is like an AR within a virtual environment (the game). True AR gives you a HUD over REAL LIFE. Think Iron Man's view from within his suit.

Now, not many people have even heard about augmented reality. I'm looking forward to that changing. Remember when nobody carried a cell phone? How about smart phones? We've moved from everyone not only owning and carrying a cell phone, but now more people have smart phones (Blackberries, iPhones, Androids, etc.) than normal regular cell phones, because they gave people the best of two worlds: the mobility of a cell phone and the universality of the internet; a connectivity to the entire world. What about Blue Tooth? You see a lot of people using hands-free devices now.

Throw all of that into one nice portable device. What do you get? I'm picturing a world where cell phones are obsolete. I'm picturing a world in the near future where everyone is wearing a pair of "sunglasses", but you know they aren't shielding their eyes from the sun and they're not blind. They're playing a game. They're "writing" a term paper. They're comparing stats on two different cars. They're looking at the 5 star rated restaurant versus the 2.5 star right next door, in REAL TIME, as they drive down the road (hazardous lol?). They're checking the current traffic conditions for the next 15 miles of interstate. They're receiving real-time updates on anything you can imagine. The internet isn't at their fingertips. It's right before their eyes! Not only that, they can interact with the HUD in real-time much like a touch screen in thin air. I see a world where everyone is using this technology. It's a bright future for us technopaths and futurists.

Share your thoughts on AR. What features did I miss? What are the potential dangers of AR?

Thanks for reading

You may want to check out the following links;

Retinal HUD
Retinal Scan Display Patent
Direct Retinal Imaging

The technology exists already. I was actually looking at this kind of technology for singers so that words could be imaged directly on their retinas for stage performances, rather than using the "ear bud" monitor technology. This technology of laser-retinal projection could very easily display whole pages of data from the internet or anything else using projection elements in sunglasses or from a rear view mirror or even from lamposts to show street signs. It's non-invasive at least, meaning outside your person, you don't need any implants. What concerns me is that the next generation, Generation-Stoopid, is going to fall for all this junk along with the implants.

Cheers - Dave

reply to post by OrphenFire

I am not so sure that our minds are capable of processing that much info all at once. Look how many problems we have with people simply talking or texting while driving.

If we are going to incorporate that sort of technology, we must augment the human mind. Cyborg or something like that. That's my opinion anyway.

reply to post by OrphenFire


I must be on a totally different thought pattern than you. That just sounds terrible to me - very... claustrophic feeling. I think we've gotten too disconnected on a face to face, personal level already. I can only think of negatives at this point, I'm sorry cause I know that's not what you're after here.

I did S&F your post though because I do realize that what you're describing is where we're headed and you've captured it very thoughtfully and fully.

Good post!

reply to post by bobs_uruncle


Yes, the technology exists. The masses just aren't ready for it, yet. The touch-interface devices are preparing people for a much more interactive environment, as well as the 3G and 4G anywhere internet connections. The trick is going to be a question of, "Will everyone who's carrying a cell phone now be willing to constantly wear a pair of special glasses? We 4-eyes will have no problem adapting to the technology. But I'm not sure 90% of the population is ready to wear a pair of glasses, no matter how stylish, all day long. If they could just experience the full-on capabilities of AR, there would be no turning back.

I predict experimental public testing of beta devices within 2-5 years. Massive acceptance and public-wide usage after that.

reply to post by Iamonlyhuman


Thanks!

I know, I did consider the aspect of "disconnecting" on a personal level. But at this point (with all the iPhones, Facebook, etc.) there's no denying that we are heading towards a more digital world.

I was speaking about this to a family member the other day. It went over their head though.

I also vision the same as you. It would be like a contact lense on the eye which is somehow linked to your brainwaves and you can control what appears on the lense. No one else would be able to see it though.
I think it will happen before 2050 if we can understand the brain better by then.

After reading your vision of the device it reminded me of a dream I had last week.
I was in some store and there were black glasses with small thick lenses on the shelf.
I picked them up and there was a NIKE logo and tick on the glasses as well as four small red buttons on the side of the frame.

I didn't know what they were but after reading your post maybe I looked into the future.

reply to post by sheepslayer247


We've already created tons of things which our minds and society aren't ready for, why would this be any different?

reply to post by Nventual


That's interesting. This will probably start out as stylish "sunglasses", and/or even able to incorporate into normal prescription glasses. It will require a portable power source (small lithium-ion battery like cell phones) that is rechargeable. In order for it to make its way to contact lenses it will need to be powered by our own brains or something. Like the ability to draw electricity from the brainwaves. Not sure if that is possible or wise or whatever, but it seems like the only way. As far as interacting with our actual brains? That's much further down the road, like almost a century, probably. I would fear brain implants.

The technology does already exist and it is very exciting. I personally love the combination of knowledge where ever I am at the same time as it's artistic value of changing the landscape.

I've imagined this for years. I feel like we are going to be walking pass strangers on the street and you can see their facebook profile etc And they will have their own unique avatars, or symbols on their clothes they can display with the technology. The possibilities are endless. It's crazy to imagine. But we are almost half machine already, so it's inevitable that with nanotechnology etc we will evolve into something different.

If you played the game heavy rain, the FBI guy has a similar tool.

reply to post by _Phoenix_


You bring up an interesting point about "avatars". Imagine being able to implement an entire 3D "model" around yourself. Like your WoW avatar or a celebrity or Halloween disguises.

What if you can go to an arena and play fully immersible games, while getting real physical exercise. MW2 in a real, controlled environment. Or futuristic sci-fi combat. Or LotR fantasy combat. RPG's. The entertainment avenues are abound with potential.

Look I think we'll probably get there eventually but hopefully not so quickly as the younger generation would like.

Having said that I believe there are some fantastic opportunities in real world situations. I was involved with experiments some time ago to provide HUD for fire-fighters. The helmet included a HUD where by they would be fed information on the fly that included building internal maps and their location. That's about all I can say but you get the idea of what i mean for real world situations. I wouldn't want to see it used for viewing my emails on my retina its just not needed - a little extreme example I grant you.
MJ2

reply to post by OrphenFire


For it to work as a contact lense I was figuring it could run on nanobatteries (not created yet I don't think) that perhaps recharge with sunlight or just by being used (like a car battery, recharges itself while it's on) since they're so small but it would probably still require some other form of power.

As for before the contact lense, it would most certainly be in the form of sunglasses where the opacity is low so you can still still see out of both eyes clearly (even though only one eye-peice would have the display). A TV that doesn't reflect sun glare has already been created so the same can be used on the sunglasses so that the display is clear.

It's funny you say "stylish" because in the dream the sunglasses gave off the impression of being REALLY stylish (I was going to buy them even though I didn't know what they were). Yet when I woke up they seemed nerdy. If I get around to it I might draw up a picture in MS Paint just in case they're ever invented I can say I dreamed them up.

edit: it's harder than I thought to draw things lol, I edited an already made photo of sunglasses and it looks really bad but anyway this is sorta how it looked in my dream.

Originally posted by Nventual
We've already created tons of things which our minds and society aren't ready for, why would this be any different?

edit on 5/11/10 by Nventual because: (no reason given)

We can create anything we wish, or have the ability to do so. But as humans we only use what...10% of our minds? I think that if we are going to use this sort of technology we must either evolve the human brain to be able to digest the vast amounts of information at one time, or we must use technology to assist in proccesing that information.

IMO anyway.

reply to post by sheepslayer247


Yeah, most people. I could easily handle an AR interface constantly feeding me information. Anyone who plays FPS's or RPG's, or really any fast paced video games would be able to handle this with ease.

reply to post by Nventual


I'll tell you right now, I wouldn't wear those lol.

I'm thinking something more like this:

reply to post by OrphenFire

Well if I could get my drawing to look like the ones in my dream you'd prefer them over the other options.
It was like a mix between science glasses and stylish black sunglasses.

reply to post by Nventual


Cool :p

I'm not a drawer myself. And drawing from dreams is harder than drawing even from imagination.

Yeah I can see where this is going. Eventually there will be direct neural implants. You will be connected directly to the cloud and your thought processing will be accelerated by artificial computational devices. Moreover you will have direct access to additional sensors that see further into the spectrum or process sound and so forth. Ultimately your implants will secrete certain chemicals and inject images into your mind so that your leaders can command your body autonomously. There is no longer any reason for independent thought......

Yup sounds like utopia.... NOT!

reply to post by SevenThunders


Don't forget that companys will be able to pay to have their logos displayed through the AR.
When you walk into a car dealership for instance there might be a pop-up in the display showing the latest deals for a new car.

It will be done in the name of convenience and so no one will complain.