Amateur Reality Videos

Amateur Reality Videos

Amateur Reality Videos

Even though the concept is deceptively simple, the implications of digitally augmenting reality are not quite known or clearly defined. In 1997, Ronald T. Azuma (then a researcher at the Hughes Research Laboratories) defined augmented reality in his paper A Survey of Augmented Reality as a situation where reality and virtual reality are combined in an interactive and real-time manner in 3-D. The key point here is that it is a merging of the real and the virtual to create something entirely new.

Prior to Azuma's definition, in 1994, Paul Milgram (a researcher at the University of Toronto) and Fumio Kishino (then working at the ATR Communication Systems Research Laboratories in Kyoto, Japan) established in their paper A Taxonomy of Mixed Reality Visual Displays what they called a 'Virtuality Continuum' (VC). The VC was depicted as a line that ran from 'Real Environment' to 'Virtual Environment' with only two mixed reality points in between. The two points, 'Augmented Reality' and 'Augmented Virtuality', were used to gauge whether it is perception of the real that is being augmented or perception of the virtual.

The Advent of Augmentation

In October of 2009, University of Washington Professor Babak A. Parviz wrote a letter to the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) where he asks why it is that there should not be contact lenses that project information directly into the eye's field of vision.

Professor Parviz's own research led to the creation of miniature circuits and LED displays embedded into contact lenses. While there is no doubt that any new technology and technological concept is exciting, one must question what effects these new technologies will have on human society and on civilization as a whole. Instead of only asking "why not?", it is also important to ask "what would this mean?"

There is absolutely no doubt that digital and wireless technology have completely changed the way people not only live, but interact. With the advent of affordable portable computing and the rise of an increasingly social internet, people feel more connected to each other than ever, but at what cost?

It seems that the technological trends present today, and in the near-future, emphasize social networking, 'light' design, and increasingly direct, intuitive controls (fewer interactive peripherals). This can be seen in the popularity of netbooks, touch screens, smart phones, and motion-controls.

The Philosophy of Augmentation

The combination of these visions is leading to a world where society is, very literally, always connected and information is readily available. One must wonder what changes augmenting reality will bring.


  • Amateur Reality Videos

    Amateur Reality Videos

    Amateur Reality Videos

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