Matt and Maggi link through to some interesting stuff about using Augmented Reality (AR) out of the HITL project (NZ / US) for children’s books. I’ve also wondered about the possibilities for shared ritual experiences – that go beyond things like the primitive “CyberSamhain” described here in Erik Davis’ “Techno-pagans” article.
Beyond Tomorrow
News story about Human Interface Technology Laboratory New Zealand
I came across AR when I did my initial foray into looking at virtual reality for my BD, when I started looking at how emergent technologies interact with Christian understandings of being human. Some very clever, and potentially helpful, stuff there.
The HITL (NZ) stuff originates in the “Magic Book” project (HITL project in the US). There used to be some video clips there you could view on the net that showed multiple people using the augmented reality stuff. The clips are a bit dated now but might give you the general idea. I like the facility to move between the fully immersive virtual world and an augmented one.
BBC World has a programme “The Virtual World” on a few years back that showed AR technology using, among other things, haptic (touch) feedback – you could “feel” the surface of molecules through an interface hooked up to a scanning electron microscope while working in a normal work environment with others. Might be some clips from that around somewhere. BBC World’s “Click Online” has some AR stuff here.
