Is It Live or Is It AR?IEEE Spectrum (08/07) Vol. 44, No. 8, Bolter, Jay David; Macintyre, Blair
"Education and entertainment could be transformed with the implementation of augmented reality (AR), the merging of digital sights and sounds with physical reality, according to Georgia Institute of Technology professors Jay David Bolter and Blair Macintyre. "A decade from now--if the technical problems can be solved--we will be able to use marked objects in our physical environment to guide us through rich, vivid, and gripping worlds of historical information and experience," the authors contend. Bolter and Macintyre have been holding classes in AR design to support a project to enhance Atlanta's Oakland Cemetery with a tour to famous graves, using actors and sound effects to portray the deceased and their historical background; the plan is to add visual effects later on. Important AR elements include a display system for viewing digital objects laid over the physical worlds, and a means for determining the user's viewpoint. Rapid 3D modeling of graphics objects is improving because of the enormous demand for such capabilities in the consumer gaming arena, while making sure the graphics are correctly merged with images of the real world is a challenge being explored through devices such as the virtual retina display, in which a laser draws images on the user's retina. Tracking position and orientation remains the most formidable technical challenge. Bolter and Macintyre also write that AR tools must boast ease of use as a way to encourage designers to enter the field. Concurrent with the advancement of AR technology will be the emergence of historic tours, games, and AR social experiences of increasing sophistication."
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