Augmentality

Columbia University has been doing augmented reality research for over a decade now. And, if you look hard enough you will find some great pages dedicated to these research projects. I happened to stumble upon one such project and this is what I found.

It is a video about markers and “visual hints” technology.  Unlike many of the ads and sorta gimmicky things you may find today, “visual hints” technology can understand gestures.  Instead of merely having a 3D image rotate the program can understand that a gesture is being made and react to it appropriately.  See for yourself, it’s pretty cool stuff.

So what makes this technology so special?  Well, first off, this technology can teach people how to interact with objects designed for augmented reality.  Would you know how to rotate to the next image without the system “teaching” you what the gesture is to do so?  Or, how would you even know there is another image associated with the marker?  Simply put, this is a great way to teach people how to interact with the new augmented reality environment.