Tag: augmented reality

Augmented reality use to increase by 333 percent in 5 years

| November 15, 2013

The expanding use of both smart phones and smart glasses are predicted to expand the use of the tech.

According to a recent report released by Juniper Research, there are an estimated 60 million people worldwide who use augmented reality applications on a regular basis.

This report also stated that this figure should jump to 200 million by the year 2018.

It was also noted in the report that augmented reality has the opportunity to take off from its current focus in the gaming and navigation environments and will expand into much greater everyday use purposes. The publication stated that “Initial innovations will stem from games, such as Google Ingress, but the technology will expand to include lifestyle and fitness apps.” It also added that there is a chance for “paradigm shifting utilization of AR within social media, potentially breaking the digital-physical wall with potential future uses allowing a digital representation of a person to appear in the users surroundings.”

By the year 2018, games and location based augmented reality will represent under half of the tech’s usage.

Augmented Reality to increase 333 percent in 5 yearsJuniper believes that by that time, augmented reality will have expanded greatly into areas such as healthcare and lifestyle. It could help with remote doctor visit experiences, as well as to help to enhance the remote shopping experience as well as that through social networks. It has also seen a potential future in enterprise, such as providing technical specs for aircraft mechanics and drawings to overlay on machinery for engineers to use for building new technologies.

Some companies have already started to use augmented reality for this type of project, such as SpaceX and Elon Musk, which use AR tech for designing new components for rockets. That said, the majority of apps that use this technology, such as Layar, provide content overlaid on paper to make it “come to life” with such elements as added data and video. It was pointed out that most of them are ad funded. Juniper also pointed out that there are a few pay-per-download and some that are freemium.

Equally, Juniper feels that the augmented reality industry will only benefit from the increasing dominance of Android, as it will help to improve AR’s current situation which is seen as rather buggy and fragmented.

Gadgets lead to new form of dangerous driving

| November 6, 2013

The first traffic ticket has now been issued to an individual who was wearing Google Glass.

Someone has now become the first to be charged for distracted driving while wearing the augmented reality gadgets known as Google Glass.

This represents the first time that a California driver has been ticketed while distracted by wearable devices.

The driver received the ticket in San Diego County, and has now been cited for driving while distracted by wearable gadgets – in this case, Google Glass. The driver was Cecilia Abadie, who was 44 years old, at the time. She received the ticket after having been initially pulled over for speeding. That said, while the driver was pulled over, the officer noticed that she was wearing the device and upgraded the ticket for driving while distracted by a mobile computer.

This use of the gadgets is currently considered to be completely illegal, in California, while behind the wheel.

Gadgets - Traffic TicketAccording to the California Highway Patrol (CHP), it is not legal for a motorist to operate a motor vehicle while using a video monitor, TV, video screen, television receiver, or other means of displaying a television or video broadcast in a visual way, for a business or entertainment application, if it is visible to the driver, even if it is in the back seat, facing forward. This would imply that wearing these augmented reality gadgets could be defined as breaking the law as – depending on what is being displayed – it could be showing something of an entertainment or business purpose.

At the same time, according to Google, its gadgets are designed to assist their wearers to better communicate and experience the real world, not to distract them from important tasks – such as driver – in which full attention is required. There are a growing number of people who are hoping that Abadie will take her case to court and fight it, so that there will be a precedent in favor of future wearers of the augmented reality glasses.

Abadie has explained that if she does fight the ticket in court, the outcome may depend on whether the judge is a technophile, who understands the gadgets, or if he or she is someone who simply thinks that they are devices that look odd.