Augmented reality on mobile phones

So far, much of this so-called augmented reality is gimmickry at best, and even the applications that are useful have their drawbacks: an iPhone running an augmented reality application as described above will have its camera, GPS locator and compass running, as well as the software using up processing power, which will rapidly eat up the phone’s battery.

Our verdict
Technological buzz-phrases tend to appear now and again, burn brightly for a while and then fade away. For instance, ‘virtual reality’ was once a popular phrase that people would trot out when talking about the future of computing.

The world it hinted at was one in which we would all interact with each other online through our avatars – instead of emailing one another, we would talk in a virtual world. That never came to pass as it was, but in online worlds such as Second Life internet users do just that.

In the case of augmented reality, the combination of technologies needed to make it happen is just starting to become affordable (albeit only for the most well-off of us). The phrase suggests a future in which people walk around with digital glasses that show them information overlaid on their vision as they walk. In future, such technology could even be implanted into people’s heads so that no glasses are required.

That’s a long way off, though. For the moment the only way to experience it is through a phone, and even then it’s only available if you have the very latest in handset technology. More phones will have with such gadgets installed, so expect to see more in this vein before long.

For now, applications are limited but if you have a compatible device it’s worth downloading one of the free applications and taking a look. But don’t expect it to change your world just yet.

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The March issue of British Journal of Photography (also published by Incisive Media) investigates augmented reality. The magazine is available at all good newsagents.