Augmented Reality

Over the centuries, Man has seen fit to extend his natural body and breach its limitations by adopting various tools and integrating them into his daily life. Until recently, these tools did not add anything to Man's perception, but simply provided a more effective means of altering and shaping nature.

That is, until the advent of the Internet. This powerful and interactive medium allows for humanity to be interconnected in a way never before seen, and to expand Man's very perception to touch that of millions of others. Unfortunately, the Internet's reliance on bulky machines to be accessed has proven to be a serious limitation until the appearance of smart phones. These have added a new social dimension to the Internet, allowing for delocalized access to the wealth of information available in the cloud.

Today, we are on the brink of a new revolution: that of Augmented Reality. This relatively recent term describes the overlaying of virtual information, onto our perception of the "real world." This can be done through a variety of mediums, most notably: smart phones. Already applications have been developed such that when one points the smart phone's camera at an object, that object is immediately identified and information about it displayed onto the phone's screen. While this may not seem particularly alarming, at the speed at which computers are shrinking and becoming increasingly powerful and entwined with the Internet, we may easily imagine a future where such information is no longer displayed on bulky smart phones, but rather projected directly into our minds.

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute in Dresden are already hard at work developing glasses which will not only serve their regular purpose, but also double as transparent computer monitors which will display information and track eye movement to identify the objects of interest to the wearer. Coupled with Augmented Reality, one can imagine a world where no longer are we busily rapping our blackberries or iphones for information, but obtain it quickly and efficiently by simply looking at an object, be it inanimate or alive.

Finally, if this technology were to be coupled with the vast databases owned by Facebook, Microsoft, Google, Myspace, and the US government (to name but a few), the notion of privacy would vanish. People would suddenly be able to obtain a wealth of information about virtually any individual with a mere glance.

This begs the question: are we headed towards a future of greater connection and understanding, or one filled with conflict, vulnerability, and fear?