Augmented Reality

Sometimes you feel like your are so far behind the 8 ball....

I've just come across Augmented Reality and I am just blown away.... if you haven't seen it before have a look at the video on this blog. Check out Boffswana.com and then start googling AR.

The education potential for this type of technology is Huge!! Imaging being able to look at any object in the world in a mixed reality. Here are a couple of application I have seen and thought about.

What is in the box? - Lego have put glyphs on their boxes - you can, using a kiosk, see what the finished model will look like life size, just by holding up the box to the camera.

Advertising - No longer will print be only 2D - Mini in Germany put an ad on the back of a magazine - when you went to their website you could hold the magazine up to your webcam and see a mini in full 3D.

Animals on your desk - You will be able to bring any animal into the classroom - put it in an environment and see how it reacts to both real and digital artifacts.

Animate anything - If you want to show a working model of a nuclear reactor, you can. Same with engines, systems both natural and man made.

Imagine in 3D - An architect rolls out the plans for your new house - point your webcam at the plans and all of a sudden you can see the house in 3D - Turn it around look at it from every angle.

Interactive books - This would be the ultimate pop up book, and interactive 3D image right there on the page.

I'm sure there are many more applications. Certainly the wow factor plus that much of the software is free and the hardware is off the shelf means teachers can play with this and find their own uses.

Software to try out...
These two allow you to import your own models onto a glyph of your choosing
Build AR
ARive

These two are pre made with animated models.
http://www.lesanimauxdufutur.com/
http://ge.ecomagination.com/smartgrid/#/augmented_reality


Papervision - Augmented Reality (extended) from Boffswana on Vimeo.