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A small post on how virtual reality is getting a generation ready for augmented reality. Then a little Side Note section on more data sets that could be used to give more relevant information when searching.
Moores law has really taken us further then computers. Raw processing power can be in our phones or streamed from the cloud, hardware isn’t the limit any more. The speed of information and data being transferred will help us brake the conventions on how we see and access this data.
Currently we are working with devices that run in 2D, the next logical step would be 3D. The reason for this is that everything we do and see is in 3D already, we interact with things in this third dimension so why can’t we move the normal user interface and information where we want it in a contextual sense.
With all technology there a number of conventions that needs to be fulfilled when making it a viable option for the mass. The first is function, without this there is no grounds for buying it, rather simple. This is where Google Glass and Oculus rift (owned by Facebook) in this space has let developers make apps for the device leading up for realise. Next is sex appeal, ok this may be over doing it but sex appeal can mean different things. To appeal to mass market the user can’t feel like they look like a nerd as this will stop public us. Google Glass approach partnering up with glasses fashions brands and being showed at Fashion Weeks adds all the right connotations. Want to make people desire these pieces of kit. My last point here is being future proof, people in the early adopters don’t buy tech for what it does now they really buy it because they can understand or see the perpetual it has. For example iPhones with new features to make life easier or Next generation consoles with a up and coming catalogue of games or new.
A Theory of acceptance of Augmented Reality
Taking into account all the above (Function, Sex appeal and Future proof) I believe that Virtual Reality like Oculus rift and Sony’s project morpheus will help subconsciously drive acceptance of Augmented Reality. A perfect example of this is Tom Clancy’s The Division as seen below. Where the user interface extends into the space around his arm then around himself. The information that the player/person needs is all around him in a contextual space.
If the experience is fluid like shown above, the player will get used to how they interpret this data. My prediction is that games like Top Clancy but also Virtual reality experiences like seen on the Oculus rift is getting a new generation ready on how they will use data in a Augmented reality setting.
However for Augmented reality to really take form these devices need to be able to know whats round them. Project tango by Google is developing a unique phone that will track in full 3D as the user holds it, meaning it can be spatially aware. Video is much better at explaining below;
This kind of tracking by my opinion is crazy (good crazy), imagine a world where everyone can track their environments, where they have been, what they have seen. This will all go into a database (hopefully private). But what if this was held by Google? With Google Now for example it could learn how a user interacted with a place, brand, objective, services it could then further predict information that the user would want at that time and place.
Little side note on searching for information
Searching for information is changing, users want customisable experiences. The old school (and most past still this way) way of searching for information is that people will type in a keyword ‘vegetarian food’ This would come up with websites related to that topic. However with more data collected on a user but also the macro environment it can take into multiple viable to that search.
Time of day, day of week, day of month (taking into account when payday is), weather, location, who the user is with, events coming up, what they have eaten already, what they did this time last year, who spoke to them about the topic area, when they usually buy the topic area, how they search for information before, trusted sites they visit for longer periods of time, information they subscribe to, ratings they have left, the way the user types it or says it (angry, rushed..) ……
There are many that could be, but even then within my very own search results I have a custom Evernote widget that gives me my own saved information around the topic.
The point here is there needs to be more ports of information to give more relevant information when searching.
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