When I went down to Los Angeles a month ago, I witnessed for my first time a man wearing Google Glass. It was one of the most “what the h*ll” moments. Not only did it confuse me why someone would wear such a thing on their face, but the fact that he was driving. I though to myself, I would probably see him in a ditch down the highway.

That brings to point, what are the real drawbacks that come with augmented reality, such as Google Glass? Well for starters the first drawback by wearing Google Glass is that you will look like you escaped from the cyborg convention. Secondly, the distraction from ‘actual reality’ by wearing (AR) maybe fatal or problematic. With Google Glasses ability to project information right to lens, as well as the ability to place calls, is a real call for concern especially when behind the wheel. There have already been reported incidents where people using Google Glass while driving have been pulled over by police for using a “visual monitor.” The State of West Virginia has already considered a banning on Google Glass while operating a vehicle.

 There has also been concern over its picture and video function. While it may be cool to record your mountain bike ride with the heads up display of your speed, the use of the video and camera function can pose a concern of personal privacy. By not knowing what a person is capturing can really make some people uneasy. Places such as banks, movie theatres, bars, strip clubs and casinos have all banned the use of Google Glass. Perhaps the phrase ‘whatever you say may be used against in you in the court of law’ should be changed with ‘whatever you see may be used against you.’

Don’t Be A Glasshole video.

I’ve had some experience with augmented reality from the 3DS. I see another student has discussed the AR cards that come with the system, so instead I’ll talk about Face Raiders.

Face Raiders is a game that comes pre-installed on the 3DS. This game uses the camera to use as the background for the game and imposes floating enemies into your surroundings. While playing this game I find myself moving around trying to shoot enemies scattered around the room and to avoid getting hit. Playing this game makes the player look pretty silly as onlookers don’t see what they see as they spastically move their console around as a part of gameplay. There is a similar game called the Dream Radar. This game has the player searching their surroundings to find Pokemon hiding around them so that they can catch them and send them to their Pokemon games. This game plays like Face Raiders.

These game reveal a potential danger of augmented reality. The augmentation to reality can distract us from actual reality. Images being placed in our line of site inevitably block out something that was actually in front of us. Both of these games are meant to be played while sitting down and they provide several warnings to the use not to stand up while playing the game so that Nintendo doesn’t get sued when little Timmy falls down the stairs trying to catch a Thundurus roaming the clouds.

My first hands on experience with any type of augmented reality technology would have to be the Nintendo 3DS. I remember trying it out at one of their pop up stands at the Kitsiliano beach volleyball tournaments one year advertising the new 3DS. What was really cool is that they had these cards on the table and with the camera and 3D function turned on, the camera would read the QR code on the card and a “portal” would open up and Mario hops out of the table. Each card would have their own mini game and the player would have to move around the card tapping point on the object via the touch screen and the 3D picture would react. This kind of technology could be (and most likely will be) integrated into the media marketing world. Adds would have QR codes on them and when viewed through a phone or something like google glasses, the add would come alive. Imagine flipping through a magazine (or newspaper if they are still around) and all of a sudden an add for the Super Bowl or the Stanley Cup comes to life and a 3D trophy appears with small cheesy little fireworks, streamers ect advertising the game. I feel there is so much potential for this type of technology and can’t wait to see what they do.

By: Trevor Hopton

Here is a link to a review of the 3DS Super Mario augmented reality game, check it out!

Augmented reality, a virtual tool that can transform how humans perceive and interpret the world around us is rapidly growing simultaneously with technological advances.  Although I rarely interact with augmented reality games or devices on my iPhone and laptop I do however find it intriguing how various apps nowadays are developed with absolutely no revolutionary factor other than something to waste time doing.  I have been surfing the web to find some apps that are considered ‘must haves’ most apps had a fundamental objective and purpose to their invention but one in particular “The Dark Knight Rises Z+” just absolutely baffled me.  This sought after apps sole purpose is to change natural environment sounds to those you would hear in Gotham City.  Personally, I find this to be the most ridiculous use of resources and developers skills. In my opinion, I do not see the point in needing to hear my environment through an augmented lens.  Although many apps follow this same format of being absolutely useless in advancing or helping your personal needs they are often very popular with today’s society and our endless need for stimuli.

Nevertheless I have tried certain augmented reality apps such as yelp and around me, these two in particular serve a useful purpose in everyday life.  They can articulate where you are currently located and then provide you with accurate amenities in your vicinity that you can choose from.  This type of technology is highly useful to travelers or people who are less familiar with an area or city.  I highly recommend apps facilitating to this nature of global positioning systems.  One easy click and you can find out where you are, what is around you, and if your favourite sushi restaurant has good reviews.

The coolest augmented reality I have played with is an app called Star Walk. This app is way cool. It uses your phone’s location, and accelerometer to show you where important stars and constellations are in the sky. If you use the app during the day, it will show you where all the stars are hiding that you cannot see. It is even better at night, when you can see stars. Just move your camera around the night sky and you will see all the constellations that you know of, and even more that you have never even heard of!

The app is fun to play with, but in the end of the day it is a tad gimmicky, and doesn’t unleash the true potential of AR. When I think of a valuable use case for AR, I think of education.

Imagine yourself sitting in biology class, learning about the anatomy of an ostrich. The only ways to learn about their inner workings are either by your teacher drawing on the board/showing you pictures, or by getting your hands dirty. Wouldn’t it be cool if instead of these methods, your teacher brought a live ostrich into class, handed out some special glasses, and gave you a 360 tour of the beasts internals in the form of augmented reality? As you look at the bird, it would overlay the organs, veins, and even show you how the fluids flow inside the animal. You could apply a similar method to physics – the glasses could track how an object is moving, draw tracking lines, and calculate properties such as velocity and acceleration. It can also be used to enhance the arts – as your teacher is talking about something, you could be fed facts and data about it!

It could give an entirely different way of lecturing, that could enhance the learning process. There is no end to what people could do with AR as technology gets more powerful and compact. There are already some great examples of it, whether Google Glass, the Oculus Rift, or…???