If you’re reading this from a Macbook or consumer-oriented PC laptop, you most likely have this little glass eye staring at you from the top of your screen. You may have used it once or twice to video-conference with relatives to show off the new baby or morphed your mug shot with some software that came with your laptop. But marketers have historically ignored them, despite their near-ubiquity in new laptops sold today.
Until now. Who’s heard of augmented reality? Well if you haven’t, you will soon. In short, augmented reality adds information and meaning to a real object or place. Unlike virtual reality, Second Life or any of those “virtual worlds”, it takes a real object or space and uses technologies to add a virtual world around it, further blurring the line between what’s real and what’s computer-generated.
Early applications of augmented reality adds graphics and sounds to the natural world – and right this minute, thousands of computer science students are playing with its possibilities in interacting with smells and touch. Video games will most likely drive the development of augmented reality, but we’re already seeing advertisers tap into this technology. Using those little glass eyes at the top of our screens.
Check out these examples below that explain how this technology works or if you have a webcam, click here to see for yourself to see how GE is touting its new smart grid using augmented reality.
GE – Plug into the Smart Grid
Topps 3D Live Trading Cards
Once you’ve seen how the technology works with the two examples above, you’ll begin to understand how the next video works. Keep in mind, the people live in the audience cannot see the virtual elements in his presentation, but anyone watching a video feed of it, can.
A Unique Way of Presenting Company Financials
So what say you, advertisers? This technology is available, incredibly engaging and high-profile brands are already receiving enormous buzz by being the first to play in the space.
It’s certainly not at a point where it’s appropriate for every brand out there, but if GE can use the technology to send a simple message that they’re committed to advances in wind power, then there might be an opportunity for your brand as well.
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April 8th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
[...] Technology Tuesday’s back in action. This week: augmented reality. Check it out on the Click Here blog. Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)Amendments…..Weekly Reality AwardsIran [...]