There is a lot of talk on how using the information to augment our reality will be a game-changer and help the way we live, play and work. I am a firm believer that it can and we are already seeing results in manufacturing and other workplaces. Magic Leap has also done a great job showing us how adding detailed objects to scenes in mixed reality can inspire us. Now with ARkit and other software, we can create and drop elements virtually anywhere with little effort.
Minecraft Earth is a great example of how our creations can augment the world and have others interact with our creations. Imagine being able to create a Minecraft world around the Eiffel Tower or interact with creations others have left behind. This could change the way games interact with the world. Now your map is no longer constrained to the imagination of the game developer but you have the entire globe to play in.
Adobe is also extending digital art to the world with Aero. A platform that will let you create and share digital reality using augmented reality. Like Christo and Jeanne-Claude we can now all create inspiring works of art without the cost or need of installation. I can’t image what Christo and Jeanne-Claude could do without the constraints of the physical world.
Augmented reality is not only about games and art. The power of the information we could provide is also unlimited. Today we see an app like Yelp doing overlays as you hold up your phone for local restaurants. Google is providing AR walking directions. Advertisers are enhancing or changing signs & billboards or even competitors menus (thank you Burger King) and this is just the beginning of what we could do.
Last week a video started to circulate of a crosswalk in Tokyo, I am not able to confirm if it is real or not. This video is beautiful, great artwork and it appears it might be providing some function with the word danger. However, it got me thinking about all that art and information that we keep talking about for augmented reality. When does the art or information become digital garbage?
Looking at the crosswalk it is overwhelming with information. What if I am at the Eifel Tower and open Minecraft Earth is it littered with other worlds? Will Aero allow anyone to drop anything anywhere? Will they be inappropriate art in the elementary schoolyard or hate work at a temple, synagogue or church. Also as wearables become more popular and affordable, as I walk down the street does Yelp give me menus, the banks’ interest rates, and the sidewalks directions.
While I am excited about the future and believe in augmenting our reality, we all need to be thinking about how best to monitor the information. Or we will just all turn it off as we did with our email once the inbox got overloaded.
And let’s not forget the SNL skit of MSNBC.