Reality Check - Using Augmented Reality For Business

Friday, 20 May 2011 11:09 |

Last Updated on Monday, 24 October 2011 07:18 |

Written by Dr. V |

Reinhold Behringer, Running Stream Professor of Creative Technology at Leeds Metropolitan University (http://creativetech.inn.leedsmet.ac.uk/staff/rb/), joins us to discuss Augmented Reality and how business applications could transform the way you work... Read the Transcript

Reinhold Behringer

Director

Leeds Met Centre for Creative Technology

www.reinholdbehringer.com

Reinhold Behringer studied physics in Germany (Uni Würzburg, 1984-1990), with emphasis on semiconductor physics. He spent one year in the US (SUNY Buffalo, 1987-88) as exchange student (MA 1988) and became interested in computer software and Artificial Intelligence. From 1990-1996 he worked on the development of a computer-vision based autonomous road vehicle (UniBwMünchen, Prof.E.D.Dickmanns), where he developed an approach for visual road recognition in conjunction with recursive state estimation (PhD / Dr.-Ing., 1996). From 1996-2005 he worked at Rockwell Scientific (former Rockwell Science Center, now Teledyne Scientific) in Thousand Oaks, CA, where he turned to Augmented Reality (AR) and developed a number of prototype applications for various application domains: industrial device training and maintenance, information systems for defense control operations, situational awareness tools.

Augmented reality could be destined to be the next technological wave. According to Sheryl Cooley on youtube.com, “Augmented reality (AR) is a technology whereby computer-generated data is laid over a “reality” (be it real life or virtual reality) in real time.” All you need is a computer with Webcam or Smartphone to read the fiduciary markers that project a virtual experience onto a physical real-world environment. Over the past 20 years, AR has gone from being a tool to help aircraft engineers assemble cables to a multi-functional device available on the average Web browser. By 2009, AR was a big hit with marketers. As a cost effective way of providing more content, visual codes were embedded in the cover text of Esquire magazine so that when it was held up to a computer’s camera, the user experience was enhanced by a video that provided visual detail that extended way beyond the text. Smartphones with built in compasses and GPS give users access to historical data about buildings and menu and pricing information at restaurants without even stepping inside. Sports drinks endorsed by athletes come alive and people can use virtual dressing rooms to try on clothes. Also, Amsterdam-based technology company, Layar, created specs that allow users to search for things on Google yet deliver results based on location as determined by the GPS. Some believe AR is just a gimmick because unless there’s a sale, where’s the value? Also, technology does not yet support all the applications and processing large quantities of data can drain batteries and significantly slow down results. But there may be a future because the technology is cheap and markers can be placed almost anywhere. Chris Grayson, a digital creative consultant and the co-organizer of Augmented Reality New York said on itmanagement.earthweb.com, “By the end of this decade, AR will swallow mobile. Augmented Reality will become the standard interface for the semantic Web.” To use augmented reality for an advantage in your organization, consider the following. Get creative with augmented reality for business use. Try AR to improve process efficiency. AR could be useful for team communication. AR for advertising is a nearly mature application. Lastly, a word of caution. AR done badly can lead to serious issues, so create your systems carefully.

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