[-empyre-] empyre Digest, Vol 77, Issue 5

[Julian Oliver]

..on Thu, Apr 07, 2011 at 10:32:21PM -0400, Alan Sondheim wrote:
>
> There are 
> real interface issues - holding up a cellphone-sized screen means that 
> the body isn't withdrawn, but forms almost like a bubble in front of it. 
> I do think this will change if and when augmented glasses become (widely) 
> available; it would be incredible to walkabout a space that descends 
> seamlessly among reals and virtuals (to the extent they're separable at 
> all). 

When I started programming our Improved Reality project, the Artvertiser, back
in 2008, I made the concerted choice to build a small form-factor computer into
binocular-shaped housing with dual mico LCD displays. Worn around the neck, it
allowed for people to readily switch between augmented and non-augmented states. 

Four major festivals and city-wide augmented street exhibitions later, it's
proven to be a big success. Many of our audience tell us that they far prefer AR
on the binoculars to that of phones (LayAR, WikiTude etc). Phones they say
present a scaled down version of the world on a grubby screen. Interestingly we
also tested a full Head Mounted Display version in a street exhibition in
Cartagena. This was not such a success with a couple of users complaining that
it disallowed them the freedom to shift in and out of the real.

AR is a game of make believe between the known and the perceived. AR cannot
exist in a state of total immersion, this would annul the playable area, casting
the user into a whole reality rather than conversing between the two.

Here's a bit about the Artvertiser (w/videos etc):

	http://theartvertiser.com

Cheers,

-- 
Julian Oliver
home: New Zealand
based: Berlin, Germany 
currently: Berlin, Germany 
about: http://julianoliver.com
follow: http://twitter.com/julian0liver