Augmented Reality Futures

The future of reality is augmented

There are a range of possible future developments and applications in the use of AR that are poised to transform our society. Future developments in and around the Augmented Reality domain include:

• Increased triggering types - smell, sound, temperature etc

• Increased expression types - vibration, gyroscope etc
• We have passed animal trials with digital contact lenses
• The emergence of "The Internet of things”
• Real telepresence integrating actuators for users into the environment (moving beyond web-conferencing)
• Lower form factor wearable displays 
• Interfaces will become more customisable and the machines will adapt to the individual (as does speech recognition).
• Nicolas Negraponte point of being able to manage and extract value from multiple information streams
• Ray Kurzweil is trying to build a brain for google:  http://www.wired.com/business/2013/04/kurzweil-google-ai/

Future application should see AR used in a range of ways (some of which have already been described), including:

• The future Augmentation of student faces with grades and special provisions, medical, social.
• Car windscreen information
• Contact lenses (successful trials on animals have already been conducted)
• Proximity based shopping alerts 
• Augmented police helmet displays
• Gaming using AR consoles
• Household devices as operating conditions

Imagining possible innovations

(adapted from: http://agbeat.com/tech-news/top-five-augmented-reality-innovations-of-the-future/  )

AR wearable devices

In a few short years, many of us will routinely wear devices that augment our reality. Google was first out of the gate with their “Glass” glasses, released in 2013. Merging the physical reality with the screen reality, a mini-camera on the frame conveyed what is seen to the data cloud, which provided information on it to one of the lenses. This provided immediate visual search information. 

Since this we have seen various AR/VR devices, however none have found social acceptance for day to day use.

AR apps

As we look at the world through our smartphones and AR glasses, corporations will develop both specialized and general apps in both free and paid mode. In free mode, the corporation will aggregate and provide information on various topics and experiences and have their logo on display. In paid mode, a consumer or business will charge a small amount for a particular AR interface for which they are adding curatorial value tied to their expertise.

AR education and trade goggles

The perceived skills gap in the workplace, and inefficiencies of higher education will be addressed by in-depth, programmable AR goggles to teach a specific skill or mastery of a subject matter. As an car mechanic used to working on internal combustion engines or a particular model of vehicle retraining would mean being guided right away, in real time, on how to work on the electric engine.

Brainwave AR

We are now in the early stage of computer–brainwave interface. As this develops, it will move into AR. We can be looking at something and thinking imaginatively about what we see, and it will be created as we think. An example might be an architect looking at a vacant land site and thinking about what design of building would best suit the site.  Stress levels could be streamed to a data bank.

Second Stage AR headsets and pods

In the second stage we will experience full AR mode stored by our neurological systems so powerfully that we may wonder: is it real or AR, taking us into deeper ethical quandaries.