Augmented reality: adding (virtual) data to the world around you. Something for Cradle to Cradle?

A few years back I wrote a proposal for one of my banking clients to develop a mobile phone application where young people could keep track of their spending on their mobile phones while shopping.

This is how I pictured it: a collaboration with Nibud (national institute for budget information), an attractive youth accounting programme, a mobile application and – since we collected all those data – a nice widget for their Hyves (Dutch FaceBook) page… (Something like “Look what I bought…” And a small line with “This widget was made possible by Bank X.” It makes sense to want to see something for your investment.)

Bank X wasn’t ready; it was too early, too new. As an online strategist, I sometimes have to just wait it out.

Recently, I have been very happy to see more and more applications on the market that combine virtual data and the surrounding world in real time. The usual name for such applications is Augmented Reality (AR). For mobile applications, people often refer to MARS, which stands for Mobile Augmented Reality Systems.

The first MARS applications

Nowadays, a lot of experimentation is being done. The first examples were very simple, just point to a logo and go to the website (duh!). The Getfugu application looks at marketing possibilities. I have some doubts about this, as it was all thought up from the point of view of advertisers and I do not think that is the best starting point.

Luckily, there are applications that really do something with where users are and what their interests could be. There is now a travel guide (Wikitude) that tells you more about the castle you are walking by…

Of course, this will really be cool when Lonely Planet starts collaborating.

There is also an application that tells you which constellation your mobile phone is pointed at or where the nearest automatic teller is.

Companies like Mobilizy (of Philipp Breuss) combine GPS, camera, orientation sensor, movement sensor, compass and content, or better said, geo-based custom content.

But where are the real-life, real-time IT applications? For example… for Cradle to Cradle?

Looking at Cradle to Cradle, I would use techniques to find out what materials a product is made out of. Sometimes I hear talk about researching the possibilities of IT tagging to make the materials of products and buildings easy to get back into the technology cycle. Such an application seems perfect, which during renovation shows which material can be found where, so that you can get it out of the building and re-use it.

However, I think more can be done with MARS. As a consumer I would also want to know about the ingredients of, for example, my hand soap, with an explanation of the effect on my health and the environment, like Method does with a product like the Green Tea + Aloe Foaming Hand Wash (which was given a Silver C2C certificate). The only thing that is needed is the right bar codes.

Point your phone and you know whether the packaging is degradable, if it can be re-used and where. Imagine pointing your camera on your old chair and knowing which number you can call to have it picked up for disassembly. I could go on, but you get the idea: there are enough good ideas.

Too way out for you? Nah! The technique is already available!

Bar codes are already being used in mobile applications like Compare Anywhere. The data now being presented are price comparisons and user experiences. Have a look at this video about the Shop Savvy Scan.

As for Cradle to Cradle information, all that is needed is a smart mash-up of bar codes, ingredients, explanation and addresses.

shup

Read more

View the research by Daniel Wagner on AR and mobile phones.

Find out more

Be sure to check out the YouTube channel of the  android developers.

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Feel free to add your comments there and take part in the discussion on possibilities for Cradle to Cradle and future use of AR. You can write your comments there in English if you like.