"Terminator Vision" Is Here For the iPhone

musefrog writes "The BBC is reporting that so-called augmented reality has arrived — in the UK at least. From the article: 'Via the video function of a mobile phone's camera it is now possible to combine a regular pictorial view with added data from the internet just as the fictional Terminator was able to overlay its view of the world with vital information about its surroundings. For example, UK-firm Acrossair has launched an application for the iPhone which allows Londoners to find their nearest tube station using their iPhone.' The page features an impressive video demonstrating AR in action."

Supplementary Brain?

[neonprimetime]

Eventually, it seems possible that mobile phones might play the role of a kind of supplementary brain - Toshinao Sasaki

I think it would have the opposite effect, and make a generation of cell phone users even dumber.

GUI for a map.

[gurps_npc]

That's all this really is - a fancy, visual Graphical User Interface, for a map.

That is not an insult, it is a compliment. The best ideas are usually simple at heart.

Re:Supplementary Brain?

[MrMista_B]

I think that using tools makes people smarter, not dumber.

Unpopular opinion on slashdot, I know, but I just don't know why.

Re:Hud?

[nine-times]

It seems to me that the real hindrance is in getting a transparent display into a set of glasses. By this, I don't mean getting a bulky display mounted on the outside of a set of glasses, but in getting a transparent display built directly into the lenses, such that when the display is turned off, it's just a set of glasses.

I think we'll start to see real products once we can build both those sorts of lenses and a camera into a set of glasses, and not have them be too ridiculously heavy, bulky, and ugly. Also, it can't be too expensive.

People keep saying it's "almost ready" because there are practical and functional HUDs, but they all require this bulky machinery to be strapped to your head in a way that looks stupid. For geeks or specialized purposes (e.g. soldiers in combat, who are carrying heavy equipment anyway and care more about functionality than looks) that's all fine. But it won't be productized until people can walk down the street wearing them and still look cool.

Re:Supplementary Brain?

[Zakabog]

I think that using tools makes people smarter, not dumber.

Smarter in that they know how to use the tools. Dumber in that they don't know how to get by without them.

Heh.

[Cpt_Kirks]

Best use of "Terminator Vision": Picking the right reply.

"Say, buddy, ya got a dead cat in there?"

(Decision List...)

"Fuck you, asshole."

Re:Camera?

[Anonymous Coward]

Won't somebody think of the cloud?? Do all the heavy processing away from the device and the only thing the device needs to be able to do is show it saving enormous power.

Re:Cameras with face recognition?

[Anonymous Coward]

No, this doesn't "bring it to a whole new level". Google's Android has been able to do this using the Enkin application [enkin.net] for well over a year now...

If this is "augmented reality", then it's already long since arrived - and iPhone users are just late to catch up.

Simultaneous Data+GPS+Camera = Battery Fail

[zbend]

I suspect you can "augment reality" for about 30 seconds, unless plugged in.

Re:Supplementary Brain?

[timeOday]

The whole progression of mankind is based on increasing specialization - that is, increasing interdependence on each other, because no person alive actually understands all the steps of producing all the technology we use every single day. For better or worse, this trend is unlikely to reverse.

I like how this is it arriving.

[lattyware]

There have been a number of apps that do this on the Android platform for some time now. Has to be an iPhone app to get coverage of course. The BBC really annoy me with their tech coverage, the only things that ever get covered are microsoft/apple stories, or the whole violent video games thing.

Re:GUI for a map.

[genner]

That's all this really is - a fancy, visual Graphical User Interface, for a map.

That is not an insult, it is a compliment. The best ideas are usually simple at heart.

Exactly. The sad part is it would work just as well without the real-time video overlay. There's no practical need for this tech it's just looks cool.

Re:GUI for a map.

[BlueKitties]

No, that's not true. This is an *application* of augmented reality. AR is the idea that computer interfaces can interlace with the environment. This isn't just a fancy way of managing a map, it's a method of interfacing with computational systems. This has the potential to change the way we use computers all together -- instead of phones, or PCs, people might have glasses which work as a personal assistant. This has the potential to be as important as the PC revolution.

MOD PARENT UP

[carn1fex]

This is ridiculous, my friend showed this to me on his G1 along time ago.

Android

[Anonymous Coward]

Somehow I think it's annoying how everytime a phone that is not the iPhone gets a new feature the news says "like the iPhone" or "unlike the iPhone". Here they could have at least mentioned that this has been available on Android for quite a while now.

Re:Supplementary Brain?

[Manax]

So in your opinion, rote memorization is what intelligence is all about? Not problem solving, not creativity, not being able to come up with better generalizations, or whatever? Rote memorizing? Really?

Re:Hud?

[Civil_Disobedient]

Not to rain on your parade, but I had this idea about ten years ago, which leads me to think:

1. About a million other people have also already had this idea.

2. At least a few of those million are programmers currently working on it.

Another idea would be to integrate a HUD with the internet so businesses could overlay meta-information about their store as you're walking down the street (restaurant menus, hours of operation, upcoming performers, etc).

Again, probably a million others have already thought of this. Actually doing it has always been the hard part.

Finally, a reason to get an i-Phone

[joshuao3]

Ok, this is the first app compelling enough to get me to buy an iPhone. Now, if only I live in London and paid 1/5 the rate that we pay in the US.