Augmented Reality Coming Soon

Argument:  Technology that will allow us to overlay information to the world around us will become widespread for personal use within the next 2 years.

Evidence in Support:

• Some personal augmented reality technology is already available:  Thanks to the iPhone we already have some augmented reality apps available. The Nintendo 3DS and the Playstation Vita handheld gaming systems also incorporate augmented reality features.

• Groundbreaking smart technologies are set to be released soon:  Google is set to release heads-up display glasses this year.  From the article:  "The glasses will have a built-in camera that will be able to monitor the world in real time and overlay information about locations, surrounding buildings and friends who might be nearby."  And as mentioned in a previous post SixthSense is doing amazing AR work with major implications, although it's still in the prototype phase.

• Upcoming technologies will be relatively affordable:  The New York Times reports that, according to Google, their upcoming HUD glasses will cost "around the price of current smartphones".  Also, SixthSense says their prototype can be made for approximately $350.

Evidence Against:

• New technology might not take off: Google has a long history of innovations that don't take off and certainly don't revolutionize.  See: Google Plus, Chromebooks, and the list of Google flops.

• Easier said than done:  John Parkinson's CIO Insight article "Enterprise Mobility: a Fresh Perspective" offers technical challenges that must be overcome before AR technology to become reliable.  Concerns include: coverage, bandwidth, security, synchronization, multi-user viewing, and pricing.

Balanced Discussion:

The argument could be made that augmented reality technology is already widely used and accepted for personal use.  However, I think AR applications and use has nowhere near hit its peak and will gain more traction soon due to Google's upcoming release.

The dreamers among us see the possibilities of the technology and may be tempted to think it will be easy to implement, however, the realist see several issues that must be addressed before the technology can be valuable and efficiently implemented.  Companies are no doubt working on solving the technical concerns, but we may very well be in the early days, far from having all the kinks worked out.

I have no doubt the kinks will get worked out.  Admittedly 2 years is just a wild guess on my part, but at this point in the development of AR technologies the hardest argument to make is that AR technology won't be revolutionary in the future.