Augmented Reality

We've all been to 3D movies, may have seen 3D TV's, and possibly even have experienced a new virtual environment of some kind. But 3D mobile applications? For some of us, the buzzword "Augmented Reality" may be completely new. If you have iOS take a few minutes to download the new app String™ Augmented Reality Showcase from the Apple Store to get the full experience of this blog post. It is a free, quick download only available to Apple devices (as of right now) that will change the way we interact with applications as we know them.

String is one of the first well constructed augmented reality applications. Wikipedia explains, "Augmented reality (AR) is a live, direct or indirect, view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented (or supplemented) by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data." So what does this mean to us? The app String has the capability to recognize images and see where they are in 3D space.You can actually see certain graphics in 3D through your own camera in real time as if it was in the real world. To see how this all works, open your newly downloaded String App and focus on the following image:

If you hold your camera steady enough you should be able to see a dragon coming out of the center of your screen like illustrated in the photo to the left. The dragon will come out of the image focused on as shown above and fly around you.

If you check out poweredbystring you can test out other images that have the same enchanting capabilities as above. String can also be purchased as a Software Developer Kit (SDK)  for developers using iOS devices who want to create augmented reality apps. Augmented apps and games are quickly becoming a huge source of revenue in the gaming industry and for social media marketers. According to Layar, the market for Augmented Reality Applications will grow quickly, and,"generate nearly $300 million in revenues and reach $5.2 billion in 2017." The way we use applications will be changing; the possibilities only continue to grow with this new software. As the future generation of IT, we have to accept and adapt to what the future will hold for technology, and the way it may be programmed or used differently than before. There will be a lot of money to be made in this industry if the predictions hold true, and we can either choose to open our eyes to the new opportunities, or ignore it. Or, as a last result we can just use String for our own pure entertainment and let little green monsters crawl all over us. Download it now!

-Bailey Anderson