Despite sounding like a word from some science-fiction movie, augmented reality had already been around for quite some time. Just that only recently, we see many new break-through in technology that brings back the novelty of augmented reality.

Now, to begin with, what exactly is augmented reality? It is a form of mixed reality where computer-generated data are blended into the real environment to give real footage in real time. Sound confusing? Take for example that you are wearing a pair of special glasses out shopping. The item you see at the shop is then processed by this tiny microchip and you will be feed with information such as how much that item will cost at another shop, its make and perhaps recommendation of other things you might like via your glasses.

As mentioned previously, this technology has been around for ages but rarely heard of due to the reason that normal consumers such as ourselves would not have find it to be useful in our everyday life. For example, one of the first applications of augmented reality can be found in the fighter jet cockpit where the head-up display (HUD) shows all relevant information for the pilot without him or her having to look in another direction. In the field of medicine, Microvision actually developed a small-mounted display for surgeons that display all essential data of the patient they are operating on.

Why the subject of augmented reality is suddenly brought back to recent news is perhaps due to the new capabilities of mobile phones today in particular the iPhone 3GS. For consumers, how augmented reality can be useful in our daily lives is dependent upon how it can be integrated into the essential gadgets we are already carrying (e.g. Watches, sunglasses, mobile phones). This led to the development of several applications such as Layar, Wikitude and more recently Sekai Camera which is highly regarded to be the killer application for the iPhone.

Nevertheless, augmented reality is starting to be seen everywhere. In advertising such as the Mini Cooper ad (See here ) and perhaps into the future where the example I had stated earlier come into existent. As of present, most developers will probably see the mobile phone industry as the best platform to develop their programs considering that most phones are already equipped with a good camera, GPRS system and Wi-Fi.

*The writer is currently convincing an AR developer to create a program for the mobile phone to warn users of impeding collision with other people for fear that in the future everyone will be walking on the street looking into the screen of their phones.