One of the hottest trends in interactive has been Augmented Reality and marketers are scrambling to figure out how to use it without falling into the “me too” category. AR is nothing new and has been around since the early 90’s. You may not have realized it but you have been experiencing AR in a variety of ways for some time now. It might surprise you but the yellow “first down” line we see on TV watching a football game is in-fact a form of AR. The technology broke though into main stream when it became possible to produce AR experiences in Adobe Flash, providing an unmatched user base (installed on 99% of all internet-enabled desktops) as apposed to developing proprietary plug-ins.
Augmented Reality is based on image processing and the ability to process a live video feed, such as from your webcam, and detect objects within the video. In this instance it is detecting a marker, typically a black square with a white pattern inside of it. The distortion of the marker within the video image, depending on how you are holding it, creates 3D camera information that can be applied to a 3D model. Other image processing techniques such as motion detection, facial recognition, optical tracking can be combined together to create meaningful interactive experiences. Utilize GPS to provide location awareness to your functionality and now you’ve got something. CPG, retail, social and gaming can all benefit greatly from these capabilities.
Pushing the limitations of AR within Flash is a tangled web because of memory consumption and image processing. Aside from performance why and when to use AR is a larger question, technology will always get better but ideas will stand the test of time. There are some great AR examples out there. We believe the work we did for Lucas Arts on www.jointheclonewars.com is obviously a natural fit and leverages AR to drive engagement allowing for a stronger connection with the brand. I know this Star Wars fan boy was gitty with excitement as I ran to the printer. Finding the right balance between utility, brand fit, engagement, performance and entertainment is the challenge as we all move forward.
Marshall McLuhan once said “We drive into the future using only our rearview mirror” and as a side note it’s interesting to point out that most AR experiences somehow try to take an artifact from our reality and virtualizes it. For example this is a new take at a T-Shirt design fitting room. Quite a bit of AR is for novelty and that’s ok, embracing technology is part of what we do as humans, but one example of AR that really sticks out as a useful tool is the Box Simulator for the US Postal Service.
It is a very exciting time to see where this AR train goes. With increasing support and interest in creating the applications the demand for useful compelling AR experiences is going to go up.
However, it’s going to require more lustrous graphic processing, mobile availability and most importantly engaging concepts. All in due time.
