Finally, augmented reality is starting to become a useful reality for the (sort of) masses. As you can see below, acrossair ("..a hybrid collective combining rockstar application and game developers with corporate infrastructure...") has developed a new augmented reality app for the iPhone (3GS only!),Nearest Tube, that answers that perennial late night drinker's question 'Where the hell is the tube so I can get home?'.
Hopefully this is the beginning of the realisation of the vision set out by Tonchidot with their proposed SekaiCamera ("World Camera" in Japanese) project launched almost a year ago. Back then, following an very entertaining TechCrunch conference Q&A, one of the big questions was how the hell was Tonchidot going to manage and house all the data needed for the expansive system they proposed.
This is still a huge challenge however I know of at least one global behemoth that has access to ridiculous amounts of data and the ability to manage it. Given their moves into mobile with the Android system and the tidal wave of brand specific phones we can look forward to this Xmas, Google must be looking to develop this approach (in fact, rumors are that they are through a German application called Enkin).
Can you imagine Google's auction model in the augmented reality world with retailers (and their online competitors!) falling over themselves to outbid each other to be the first 'airtag' to appear on a user's screen on high streets across the globe?
Now all I need to do is to put forward the case for my company phone to be a nice shiny iPhone 3GS......
Bryan aka ThePersuader
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