Advances with Nokia

This is interesting! From the previous post, here is Nokia's attempt to incorporate augmented reality. In Nokia’s mobile-augmented-reality prototype, a user can actually point to a near building with the camera of a phone. Then the system actually calculates the building’s location and uses that information to identify it.

The idea of superimposing digital information in the real world through the use of augmented reality has been discussed more in the past year, and there are a number of interesting ideas and proposals out there. Here is an article from this past spring about this topic:

http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?ch=specialsections&sc=emerging&id=18291

View Management

View management is the layout decisions that determine spatial relationships between 2-D and 3-D objects. Here is a picture demonstrating such a visual system:

http://www1.cs.columbia.edu/graphics/projects/ViewManagement/vm_small.jpg

"SenseShapes"

There are always various projects being conducted with the use of augmented reality. This site shows one example of a program that uses a variety of tools to help better distance finding with augmented reality:

http://www1.cs.columbia.edu/graphics/projects/SenseShapes/

Iraq vets use virtual reality to ease post-battle trauma

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/world/iraq/2007-06-18-iraq-virtual-reality_n.htm

Virtual Reality Lab (VRlab)

Take a look at this detailed site of a virtual reality lab where they create, animate, and model these three dimensional virual reality worlds. You can look at the research that is taking place, events, various projects and more.
Link to VRlab:
http://vrlab.epfl.ch/

Virtual Reality Used to Help Patients in Burn Units

Starting in May of 2007, Nationwide Children's Hospital has been using virual reality games to help distract children that are in the burn unit. It gives them something else in which they can create meaning and entertainment in their lives, while being stuck in the hospital for an extended amount of time. This is only one of the many ways that virtual reality can contribute positively to our community. Here is a link to the full story:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071009101818.htm

Second Life

A great example of where Augmented Reality has come today.

http://secondlife.com/whatis/

Virual Reality Control

Watch an amazing video which shows how a severely disabled boy controls a rocket plane by his head gestures as a type of art therapy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5-I9NHPt2I

Do you want to purchase virtual reality equipment?
http://www.vrealities.com/

Prototype System

Head mounted display of an augmented reality prototype system.

This is an example of an activity using virtual reality.

Video of Augmented Reality

This is a demonstration of augmented reality

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivs7-FwjRQ8

Uses of Virtual Reality

This link shows the different uses of virtual reality.

http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/articles/VRApps/start.htm

Using Augmented Reality

This is a link to different uses of augmented reality.

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/augmented-reality5.htm

What are some of the applications of augmented reality?

There are numerous proposed application domains of augmented reality, that show some promising ideas and research. Some of the main applications include the following:

• Medical
• Entertainment
• Military Training
• Engineering Design
• Robotics
• Manufacturing, Maintenance, and Repair
• Comsumer Design

Milgram's Reality- Virtuality Continuum

This continuum describes the relation between agumented and virtual reality.

The phrase virtual reality was founded by Jaron Lanier (the founder of VPL research). The goal of virtual reality is to create an environment in which one can be completely emersed. Unlike the virtual system, augmented reality is a combination of virtual reality and a real world scene. For more information and a closer look at the differences between virtual and augmented reality, refer to http://www.se.rit.edu/~jrv/research/ar/introduction.html#Section1.1