Now, new augmented reality interfaces are possible given the opportunities smart phones open up by combining GPS, compass and camera with wireless data connectivity. By being able to know where someone is, in what direction they are looking, combining live video with powerful data, we enable whole new classes of applications.

While definitions vary, in general augmented reality means integrating images and data from computers into pictures of the real world as they happen in real time. Though not new in itself, augmented reality actually comes in many flavors, including the variety that superimpose 3D objects and animations into a user’s view, like this clever GE Eco-Imagination ad you can play with yourself, as well as educational applications like this interactive book.

These augmented reality applications sometimes require special materials or hardware to view, so are more complicated to set up and use.

However, simple, engaging and intuitive new applications are now within the reach of millions of smartphone customers. These tools and games can superimpose on a smartphone screen a real-time view of the world and some very powerful data visualization, like this augmented reality navigation system.

The use of augmented reality information has been experimented with since the helmet-mounted display  systems of the 1960s, when Honeywell pioneered the devices for military use to augment pilots’ information.  Popularized in movies such as Terminator and John Carpenter’s They Live, augmented reality is now seeing some practical applications that challenge interface designers to create compelling experiences for customers.

Some fun and compelling examples of heads up displays have been used in videogames for years, providing statistics on speed of race car, health of a character, score in a competition, options available.  These interfaces point the direction in which innovative companies and designers are taking augmented reality now that technology is providing some practical applications for their creation and distribution.

Written with Mary-Anna Rae.