We all know the Google maps streetview application, where we can zoom into a Google map location and switch to the view as if we were standing there. Have you wondered what it would be like if you could bring up those information overlays while physically standing in that location?
Let’s pretend we are standing at Congress and Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago. We are a tourist and are especially interested in historic architecture. We’d like to know what we are seeing at this location.
Unless we did extensive research prior to our trip and made our own map, which would take weeks to produce, we might not know the names of these buildings or the dates they were built. We probably would not have a historic photograph of the building on hand to see how it looked when it was originally built.
The City of Chicago has a web-based database of many historic buildings, but it isn’t organized in an intuitive way nor does it know that I’m standing within close proximity to several buildings in its database.
If it did know where I was standing, it could deliver contextual information to my smartphone calling out the names, dates, and styles of buildings. It could even link to more information for each significant building.
How would this work? I would load the channel, perhaps maintained by the City or by the Chicago Architecture Foundation, into a web browser. This isn’t just any browser like Safari or Firefox, but a special one that enables overlays of information onto the physical world, often referred to as augmented reality. This channel could actually aggregate information from multiple sources and feed it to me through one source.
Imagine customizing your feed to show streets, historically significant buildings, Zagat rated restaurants, and public art labels within close proximity to you based on your location. You would hold up your phone, load the channel, and view the overlaid information. How helpful!
We are in the beginning stages of merging web content, geographic information and mobile device visualization. The scenario described above can be created today. Any organization who understands how useful this tool can be should seriously consider leveraging mobile geo-location applications.
They say you never stop learning and it’s true both personally and professionally. I’m about to embark on the creation of my first AR application; something that only exists virtually but is experienced in the physical world. A very different concept (not to mention different from traditional 2D design). It will require the ability to think in 3D and the elements of time (4D), interactivity, and meaning to be carefully considered.
