Around the world with data.

Over the past few lectures we've been learning a deeper understanding of how data is and can be represented in a physical form. Specifically focussing on technology data such as Wi-fi. So i thought i would do a nice big post on what i found to be interesting.

Augmented reality(AR): "Its not there but its there"

Augmented reality is a technology of which we are going to see alot mroe of in the coming years. It is blurring the line between whats real and what is computer generated. Video games in particualr are set to fimrly adopt this technology as we expect more immersive gaming.

However AR is here now in a primitive version on most smart phone's in the form of applications.

Its used for location specific data to tell the user where they are via a camera feed but not only that let them know where say the nearest restaurant is and how many miles.

In relation to our own project it would be so good if we could have the news that has surrounded the Dance Academy over the years visible when filmed on a  smart phone, but yet our idea is going to have to avoid this.

When i first saw this video, i thought that AR was a relatively new way of thinking and exploring space.


Obviously the WTC is no longer there, but using compass and GPS technology it creates a filed of vision to how the trace centre would look in perspective to where the user of the phone is standing. This example is quite eerie but does justify how the technology can be used.

Upon deeper exploration i found that AR is in fact used in sports coverage all the time. It is used for object tracking such as a football moving. With that in mind i quickly realised that this technology was being used all the time and in fact the term was coined as early as 1990.

It would be amazing to use something like this in our project, however the time and skills  needed for it, are ones we just don't have. However as i progress through my years at university i hope to use it in future projects as i had many of ideas that included AR for this first project of exploring stonehouse.

The following video was very interesting. Simply it is two men playing squash but with computer generated content on top of the actual reality , Augmented reality.
After viewing this video i think the direction this technology is heading is advertising. E.G. when people are using a more advanced version of Googles street view service they will see posters for products on street corners or on buildings that aren't really there. Its a good idea, as businesses can start to capitalise the vast amount of people using navigation technology.