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I think you're missing a more important use case, namely, being able to layer contextual information over objects in your field of vision. Use cases in industr

I think you're missing a more important use case, namely, being able to layer contextual information over objects in your field of vision. Use cases in industry abound. On a trip to the doctor's office, your physician can overlay your medical file and get pertinent information about you. If you are a politician holding a fundraising dinner, AR + facial recognition will supply you with the biographical information, social media profiles, voting records, donation history, etc. of the people in the room allow you to schmooze ever so effortlessly and ever more efficiently. AR tailor made for athletes could do a number of physiological measurements like heart rate, VO2, etc. (with wearables or implanted sensors) that could combine to produce some sort of stamina bar, allowing for more effective substitution patterns. An activity like paintball can will feel closer to an actual military engagement or a video game if a minimap that includes your teammate's location will be in the corner of your vision. The Terminator franchise did a great job of showing it's utility by giving Arnold "Terminator vision" in shots from his POV. Video games also make extensive use of OSD. A 1st person shooter's OSD really shows the advantages of AR. Advances in computer vision and networked IoT devices will be a multiplier for AR's utility. Imagine an app that overlays your vision with the mathematical patterns of nature: illustrating the Fibonacci sequence in the leaves, petals and seeds of plants or in the way tree branches form and split. It could highlight all of the phenomenon that exhibit golden ratios. It could show the equations of motion for objects moving or spinning in your field of view or detail the biomechanics of the elegant dancers of the Bolshoi ballet. In a way, you get to experience what the mind of a Leonardo Da Vince or John Nash might be like, like you are able to get an insight into the mind of a genius.

lioeters 9y ago
That was an insightful comment, thank you. Like a few others in the thread, I was skeptical of AR's practical potential - the demos/apps I've seen so far felt like "a solution in search of a problem" - but your examples and concise summary helped me to imagine the range of possibilities. The ability to "layer contextual information over objects in your field of vision".. I see, that is the crux of it, to further integrate the "real world", the sensory experience of a person, with the global web of information and computing. Great examples you gave of industries that could utilize this, in healthcare, political/social/interpersonal sphere, athletic or intellectual/educational/artistic uses. It conjures a vision of near future where people enhanced with AR - or maybe "augmented senses" - would have distinct advantages over people without access to such layers of contextual information.

lioeters 9y ago

That was an insightful comment, thank you. Like a few others in the thread, I was skeptical of AR's practical potential - the demos/apps I've seen so far felt like "a solution in search of a problem" - but your examples and concise summary helped me to imagine the range of possibilities. The ability to "layer contextual information over objects in your field of vision".. I see, that is the crux of it, to further integrate the "real world", the sensory experience of a person, with the global web of information and computing. Great examples you gave of industries that could utilize this, in healthcare, political/social/interpersonal sphere, athletic or intellectual/educational/artistic uses. It conjures a vision of near future where people enhanced with AR - or maybe "augmented senses" - would have distinct advantages over people without access to such layers of contextual information.