Comments on: Wikitude Drive: Augmented Reality Navigation

By: Paul

Paul — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 01:30:56 +0000

I think this is more a test of an idea than trying to make an actual useful app. I mean, as is, this thing is just a collision maker. However, I do think that the whole “augmented reality” thing will eventually have some solid uses. I just don’t think navigation should really be one of them. Keep your eyes on the road, not your phone, right?

By: Gaza

Gaza — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 06:16:02 +0000

I was about to write the same thing when I read Jeff’s comment. I guess currently this application makes much more sense for people who are hiking, but this effort is more about what will be possible in the near future, i.e. having cars with built in GPS systems which project the instructions on the windshield. Enter the address and follow the arrows…can’t get more simple than that.

Of course you can add the voice commands, statistics, recalculation in case of an error, selecting routes according to criteria much like viamichelin.com, etc..

I like this concept for its potential.

By: jakob

jakob — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 20:49:36 +0000

i’m with jeff. i’m waiting to use augmented reality via HUD. But what I really anticipate is the day when it displays on my sunglasses.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:48:07 +0000

Augmented reality stuff is pretty neat in it’s current form, but I look forward to where it will inevitably end up. Take this system: on my phone, using my camera, it’s not all that practical….but if it projected arrows and highlighted roads on my windshield….now THAT would be cool. I’ve always thought that life needed a good HUD. And as for Stan’s night comment…throw in a night vision camera and that would actually be VERY handy.

By: stan

stan — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 09:03:55 +0000

After the wow factor wears thin, this would seem much less useful than a map. I doubt Garmin is going to lose sleep over this. Speaking of which, I bet it works superbly at night LOL

By: cwalker29

cwalker29 — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 02:19:44 +0000

I feel like anything different will not at first be accepted!!! When cd’s, dvd, hd tv’s ect. First came out people said a lot of the thing I’m hearing now. They didn’t get real direction the project was trying to go. Until years later… I think you are looking at the furture. Its just to early for u 2 see it!!!

By: Nink

Nink — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 01:07:23 +0000

Augmented reality is ideal when you want to provide additional information but I agree with the above comment this is a poor example. Better examples include maintenance showing you where the part is now and how it should be removed replaced, translation showing you the text in the language of your choice, Additional information example scan a barcode show consumer reports, competitive prices within the current area,assembly instructions or in the case of a food product ingredients (Scan for allergies), recipes etc.

Augmented reality will be used in ways we can not even imagine that will change the way we interact with the world. It will also be used in ways were we wonder why they bothered. The good news is I am sure someone will watch this video and say “I have an idea” !

By: jon

jon — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 00:24:14 +0000

If they over lay a grid like Layar. It could be pretty cool. you could see restraunts upcoming down the road or gas stations.

By: Roy

Roy — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 00:14:06 +0000

IMO you are right about the entire ‘augmented reality’ in the way we see it in Wikitude, Layer etc.

The only way these things are interesting if they have some sort of awareness of what they are looking at. They could know the distance towards the object a camera is facing and thereby make estimations of what it is and if it deserves a POI. This is way better than random dots in a certain direction (also the reason why I prefer using Places Directory arrows over Layer POI’s).

If this Wikitude drive could recognize shapes of the road and make suggestions based on that information, THEN it is useful. If it could see the amount of cars, upload it to a server and give live-feeds of current traffic density, THEN it can be useful.

Point being: the camera needs to be more than a background.

Don’t buy the hype, augmented reality is leading us nowhere interesting (literally).