Augmented Reality

With every new technology there is a risk that we become so immersed in the application we forget that the best way to obtain information is usually the simplest way. Imagine being invited to log on to a webpage, download a plug-in for our browser, print out a marker and then hold the printed page in front of our webcam. How frustrating it is when either we can’t make it work, or, when it does react, it just takes us to another webpage giving related text and images. We could have done that by going straight to the page!

But that is exactly how AR has been, and still is, being used.

Andy Cameron, Executive Director, Fabrica admits "What's hot today is ancient history tomorrow. There have been a lot of bad uses of this technology with a rush to use it. We have had the chance to reflect on what it means and how to use it. The key is that it should be an enhancement of the stuff on the printed page." (Read the full article in the Observer 21.03.2010 Guardian.co.uk)