| Homepage | Title page | Introduction | Background | Legal Perspectives | Ethical and Social Perspectives | Security Perspectives | Conclusion | References |
Background
This section is dedicated to further explanation of augmented reality, including appropriate examples and everyday use. The most overlooked and comprehensible examples of augmented reality occur during NFL games. In real time, the announcers are able to draw circles and lines around players or mark how far a given team needs to progress in order to achieve a first down. It is, by definition, augmented reality. The drawings are overlapped with the broadcasted real image. The graphics are not actually present on the field, and are only shown on the television broadcast. This basic example of augmented reality was introduced to the NFL in 1998, and so is relatively new. As technological advances occurred, augmented reality followed suit. Two recent smartphone applications are taking the world by storm.
“Google Goggles” is an augmented reality based search engine with advanced image recognition technology. Fundamentally, the application functions when the user points the device camera at an object. The image is cross-referenced with data on the internet. In turn, the application provides the user with similar images, related links, and information on the object captured in the image. “Aurasma” is an augmented reality application that functions based on the creation of “auras” (Mills, Lecture 2012). Auras can be created by “Aurasma” users, but the most effective auras have been pre-uploaded by the company. The most effective and efficient way to explain auras is by example. There is a pre-uploaded aura called “NBA Logo.” When a device running the application is pointed at the classic NBA logo, nothing happens to the actual logo. However, on the device’s screen, the player present in the logo begins to dribble the ball around and court and crowd noises are audible. After the short animation, the most recent “NBA Top 5 Plays” highlight clips are shown on the devices screen. Note that the only space affected on the device’s screen is the area in which the NBA logo is present. Anything other than the logo will remain exactly as it is.