Cool Technology: Augmented Reality

Years ago I had an idea for a product called “iLife”. Yes, Apple now has a product with that name, but mine was something different.

My “iLife” involved a small GPS / USB device that people would attach to their keys (because you usually have your keys with you). This device would track where you went in your life, it would literally map out your footsteps as you walked the Earth. The device would store your locations and you would update your journey on your computer via the USB port, not thinking of mobile phones being GPS capable I didn’t think this device would be powerful enough to broadcast your location in real time. That information would go to a social networking profile for the user, which I had envisioned as a Google Maps mashup but would make sense as a Facebook Application or something integrated into a current network now, allowing them to revisit their travels or compare with friends. To bring the product full circle I also wanted to create eyeglasses (yes, they could be sunglasses) that when worn would show your actual path and the paths of your friends so as you went about your day you would see where your life crossed itself, where you spent most of your time, and where your friend’s lives crossed yours.

Now, years later, all of the pieces to that puzzle exist and I just found out that this same basic idea is being brought to life through augmented reality - basically the layering of virtual reality on the real world right in front of your eyes.

I was lead to this video and more on the current state of augmented reality in a great article by Sarah Perez for ReadWriteWeb titled Prepare Yourselves: Augmented Reality Hype on the Rise.