Theory and Audience Analysis Blog | thoughts from Elon's iMedia students

Augmented reality seems to take many forms. What would the world be like if people could essentially cast illusions over the world?

Some forms of augmented reality are utilized in academic fields such as archaeology. What other areas are making use of augmented reality and how are they using it?

Is there any research about making augmented reality tangible like the panels Tony Stark uses in Iron Man 1 and 2?

1.The author of the augmented reality article says that augmented reality surpassed virtual worlds. I want to know how they have surpassed them and what’s really different between the two, because just from their titles they sound very similar.

2. Which aspects of augmented reality were derived from virtual worlds/reality (gaming and such)? And which came first? Did we just larn one before the other, but augmented reality was actually created first?

3. How is augmented reality affecting or how will it affect social networking and online relationships?

1. Will we ever have anything other than augmented reality and virtual reality? Why can’t we just be happy with actual reality. Is there the possibility that these separate realities will eventually become like the Holodeck from Star Trek?

2. Some consumer products have started using augmented reality by placing something on a product they sell, allowing the user to then put it in front of a webcam to show visuals on their computer. Will any company ever create something that is actually important and more useful in the augmented reality world?

3. Will people start creating augmented reality games? Or will virtual reality be enough for us. How much harder would it be to create games for augmented reality, and how close is the Kinect to augmented reality?

1. The Wikipedia entry on augmented reality mentioned ways in which it is being incorporated into sports entertainment, advertising and even education. What are some of the more specific ways that augmented reality is (or can be) incorporated into education?

2. Augmented reality is listed as a method of enhancing collaborative efforts. Has this been applied to business conferences, non-profits, or other professional organizations?

3. One of the projected obstacles to the success of augmented reality is the high cost factor. What are potential ways to combat the current high cost, and are these realistic goals for the near future? Or is augmented reality likely to fuel a technological divide?

1. What are some ways we can use augmented reality to provide some sort of public service to society?

2. How do virtual reality and augmented reality differ? What features are taken from virtual reality and which came first?

3. What are some ways that we, as designers, can incorporate AR into the different media that we create?

1. Will augmented reality incorporate social media and networking in the near future?

2. What hardware and software are required to participate in augmented reality? How advanced will this technology become in the future?

3. What privacy and ethical concerns arise with augmented reality?

Week 13: Augmented Reality

Wikipedia: Augmented Reality

1.  What are the differences between augmented reality and mediated reality?  Do humans tend to gravitate more toward realistic environments or situations rather than those that are clearly digital or virtual?

2.  In the future, will augmented reality lead to more scientific breakthroughs or will we continue to need actual reality to prove scientific research?

3.  Augmented reality is currently used in TV sport game coverage and marketing efforts.  Is augmented reality best suited for media and commercial tendencies?

4.  The main hardware components for augmented reality are: display, tracking, input devices, and computer.  What is it about modern smartphones that makes them prospective platforms for augmented reality?

Augmented reality using a webcam and Flash

1.  What are the advancements in augmented reality that surpass the capabilities of virtual reality?

2.  Is there still a use for virtual reality or has it been replaced?

1. What is situated learning and how does it differ from learning in the real world?

After reading the text, I’ve found that situated learning exists in both the online world and the offline world (something that wasn’t immediacy clear to me).  Situated learning is basically the concept that how we learn depends on the situation that we are presented with.  It’s theorized that within situated learning there are two different aspects:  learning about and learning to be.  Learning about is basically just getting knowledge about a topic — ideas or practices related tot he topic.  Learning to be is engaging in practices about a topic and absorbing knowledge that way.  The traditional model suggests that we always learn about something then move towards learning to be.  Thomas and Brown argue that online, virtual environments turn this upside down.  I tend to agree with Thomas and Brown that in virtual environments it is often necessary to learn to be first instead of learning about but I do not think this is exclusive to the online world.  There are plenty of things offline that this is also true of.  Driving a car is impossible to learn how to do without actually doing it.  Other people’s horns are there to let you know when you messed up.  Although learning a language can be done via the learning about method, the learning to be method is more effective — immersion programs are gaining a lot of steam because it is easier to learn the language when someone is dropped in a foreign country with no other option than to learn the language.  I have my doubts that the order these two processes occur is an online/offline thing.

2. Is there more to the concept of “retail theater” than the creation of an electronic version of real life?

There is definitely more to the idea of retail theater than just creating an electronic version.  The idea of retail theater is that a retailer is trying to make their operation a destination for the consumer.  Examples might be bookstores having book readings by authors or an electronics store having in-store trainings on how to program that remote.  It is a value added offering that helps to make the consumer go to a retailer for a reason other than price.  This is an issue that online retailers are currently trying to solve.  Most consumers are shopping online because of low prices.  Very few have managed to make that jump to become a “destination.”

3. Are ethical issues faced in Second Life also present in offline society?

From what I can tell, most of the ethical issues that were mentioned in Botterbusch and Talab’s article are things that also happen offline.  People are exploited every day.  People dressing as furries in real life partake in the same “fun” activities as their Second Life brethren.  Theft happens ALL the time.  I think what really scares us isn’t that these things are happening in virtual environments but that we are so naive to think that they wouldn’t.

1. Will virtual worlds become even more advanced in the future? Will they incorporate social networking and will we be able to create our own avatars that look like us and have all of our information?

I think that virtual worlds will progressively become more advanced as our technology becomes more advanced. It is just a matter of time before social networking plays a big role in virtual worlds. In the future, I can see virtual worlds becoming so advanced, that it is like being in the real world. My fear is that people will take it that way. They will get so wrapped up in the virtual worlds that they forget to live their real lives. Could this lead to social problems and complications?

2. Could virtual worlds be a new way of advertising for companies with product placement? (i.e. Second Life)

I think that in the future advertising will take new ventures to promote their products. For example, social networking (i.e. Facebook) is already allowing companies to advertise in the side bars of the webpage. It is only a matter of time before the virtual worlds included advertising as well. For example, Coca-Cola could place coke cans throughout the virtual world as product placement. Of course the users are going to see the Coke can and that is further advertising for them.

3. Could there be privacy concerns, along with ethical concerns, with virtual worlds?

I am fearful that privacy is going to be a major issue in the future of Internet usage and gaming. I am already afraid to put any information about myself of social networking sites or the Internet in general. Virtual worlds will just be another place for the chance of identity theft, etc. I am also fearful that bullying could be a major concern with virtual worlds. Many issues could arise; however, I hope there are moderators that can help keep these incidences to a minimum.