When we had our 2010 trends evening at the beginning of the year, one of the trends to watch was Augmented Reality – presented on the evening by Cyrus Gilbert-Rolfe from EMC Consulting.
I’d imagine most of us have seen the mobile apps that are based on one of the interpretations of this technology – layering information over the real world. Nearest Tube from Across Air is a fine example. While it might seem a bit gimmicky for a seasoned Londoner, it is very useful when you’re located in another city you are far from familiar with.
http://www.acrossair.com/apps_nearesttube.htm
Personally, I like the very simple examples (I would wouldn’t I?) that give you one of those “hmmm, that’s clever” moments. For example, if I do a directions search on my iPhone and then press ‘BUS’ as the mode of transport, the bus number and the next arrival time at the nearest bus stop is displayed, over the map. It seems so obvious and it adds real value.
Nevertheless, some people decry Augmented reality as faddish. I think that’s premature and believe that we are just beginning to scratch the surface of its potential. Certainly geo-location and its usefulness in exchanging information – including marketing – is something we are increasingly discussing with our clients.
Augmented reality is only one facet of this trend. In fact, Virtual Reality, perhaps considered by many to be the plaything of gamers and second lifers, has for some time had commercial applications albeit not so obviously in the public eye. Not surprisingly, much of this technology has been driven by military investment. What’s changed is that access to the hardware and software to make virtual reality viable is now far more affordable. And a generation of gamers are now part of the mainstream workforce. There’s true potential in bringing gaming psychology and techniques like MUDs (multi-user domains) into commercial and domestic contexts.
With this in mind, I’d like to invite you to the next Fantastic Tavern to explore the potential of what I call ‘Realities’.
I want to cover a broad range of themes in our evening together and so once again, I’ve invited some great people to help me. I’ll name them later but what they’ll cover will include:
· Definitions, context and opportunity – what is it, what’s working and what’s not?
· Geo location – what’s happening in the mapping industry today and whats next?
· Space – the final frontier. (Sounds a bit Star Trekky doesn’t it? And for very good reason. There will be a live prototype of the Holo-deck – you DO NOT want to miss this
· Developing realities – key learning from the coal face
Of course, the best TFTs are the ones that involve you so we’ll have an interactive session to boot. However if you have a specific area of expertise in this space (no joke intended), I’d be interested to hear from you.
Date: Thursday 29th April
Time: 6:30pm for a 7pm start
Venue: Katzenjammers, The Hop Exchange, 24 Southwark Street, London SE1 1TY
To attend please email michelle.flynn@emc.com
And yes, there will be beer and sausages. Please book quickly as we have a maximum of 75 spaces this time.