Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/70379
displays in planes and prestige cars, and a lot of GeoWorld readers likely can remember the holographic chess game played in Star Wars. These are just a few examples of AR: overlaying, or augmenting, one's view of the real world with digital contextual information. An additional type of AR is "computer vision," where T software tries to identify objects seen through a cam- era. An example of this is in the film Terminator 2, when the android looks at various bikers to assess whether their clothing will fit it. This also is referred to as object/image recognition or "Terminator vision." AR isn't virtual reality, where users enter a completely computer-generated world; it's about overlaying the real world. Context is the key to useful AR applications, as the technology adds information to the immediately visible. Therefore, one of the most important elements to AR often is location or geographic context. Building Buzz Although some military and industrial uses of AR have been around for a while, there has been a rapid increase in "buzz" about augmented reality during the last couple of years, with several major hard- ware manufacturers investing considerable resources into research and development as well as software companies releasing a variety of point solutions for business and (predominantly) consumer use. The principle reason for such increase in activity is the almost-ubiquitous smartphone and the new genera- tion of tablet computers. A typical smartphone has more than 100 times the speed of the first home PCs, and many have excel- lent touch-screen interfaces that anyone can oper- ate, substantial local storage, game-quality graphics, a high-definition camera and a (mostly) permanent Internet connection. In addition, most devices now have additional all-important sensors for enabling AR services: a GPS receiver, an accelerometer and a digital compass. Combined, these sensors enable software to determine where and in what direction the device is pointed, delivering a location-based service as well as direction- and orientation-specific services and information. Beyond the terminology and hype, is AR just a gim- mick app for your phone to view Twitter feeds or a car- toon lizard on your hand? The short answer is "no," but the long answer is, inevitably, a little more complex. Augmented reality helps visualize sewer pipes at a junction. JUNE 2O12 / WWW . GEOPLA CE . COM 19 he concept of augmented reality (AR) has been around for some time, although not always coined as such. Many people know about heads-up Content Is King There are some excellent current implementations and adaptations of AR, but most lack useful content. Besides computer vision, the AR community is strug- gling to find uses for the emerging technology—the consumer market is receiving applications that tell them about things they already can find quicker and easier from Google Maps and similar services. AR does points-of-interest services as well, but there has to be something rather impressive onscreen to get average people to look like an idiot, holding their phones in the air for 20 minutes—and AR hasn't quite gotten there yet. An AR forum at Mobile World Congress, for example, had several leading hardware manufacturers on the panel, discussing how they're improving hardware to further AR adoption. At the end of the presentations, a show of hands confirmed that there was only one content provider in a room full of developers and OEM suppliers, which appears typical across the development community. So why should those working with GIS solutions and location-based data get excited about AR? Quite simply, it's because they already have the content and standards that can make AR useful and "pull it by the