Check out this augmented reality demo video.

http://www.demo.com/demo/demonstrators/2004/video/total.asx

Sorry about the crappy video streaming, but there really isn't anything I can do about it.

So um...what is it? It looks like a video with a bunch of CG effects added in.

Yah, that's exactly what it is; the difference here being that the effects are being added in in real-time.

That was incredible.

I can't tell if it's magic, or simply useless. I know it's one of the two...

JediKirby

That was effing sweet!

In the grand scheme of things, everything involving the internet and technology is "useless". Go pick berries, kill your own meat, then talk about how useless everything is

Cool

Nah, it's not technically useless unless there is literally no use for it. This technology can be used to make helicopters fly around, but not really.

He was explaing all the uses in the video...just none of them are usful for common users, just big companies and the like.

I can't see how this is any more special than normal CGI, except that they've done it in realtime. Even so, what in the WORLD would you need to realtime change the color of a car when you can... just do it in CGI? And control more aspects? No, this seems useless to me. I can only see it being good for sports games to show where a ball is, halo-efect a player, highlight nascars, etc.

JediKirby

well, maybe its useless in real time, but aren't video games useless too, what if we combine these two
/me becomes happy and smiles

hot diggity dang

Less time, less money.

:O You can like, video tape your room, then you have a whole level for a game or something to walk around in (See how the car bounced around on the table as if in rag-dollish physics). With the lightsaber though, when he puts his arm in front of it, the lightsaber covers it up

Well if you could use it in real time video, and you could make battle scenes in a movie play out just a little different each time, I think this could be the biggest advance in film making technology EVER.

Never thought of that... That would be AMAZING.

Just imagine.... I want this for my house...

Well, as the technology progresses it'll get more and more compact. Imagine stuff that gets easily lost, like keys or a remote control, would have a senser on them. When you lose them you put on a visor and it's got an arrow (or whatever) that points you right to the object.

But... wouldn't it be better just to do CGI and make sure you get the outcome you want, but exactly.

That needs some serious refinement, but it looks like a good start.

This has some awesome implications for computer games. Whereas CG is basically just a lot of computer modelling and animation, this real-time thing is a lot of physics modelling and collision interactions.

Imagine putting on a headset or something, and you'd see your house. But walking through your house would be a Half-Life 2 zombie, climbing over your sofa towards you. You'd see your hand, but in your hand would be a crowbar. A headcrab scuttles out from under your desk and leaps onto your face.

Now, obviously the virtual stuff can't 'move' the real stuff, unless you put little motors on everything, but you can still have real stuff colliding with virtual stuff. This was the kind of thing you'd see in cheesy 70s sci fi movies, but we're one small step closer to it being reality.

oooh, that's a good point... and it'd be a blast. You could even have laser-tag type places with stuff sitting on shelves and whatnot. Your bullets tear holes in walls, things like that. You could even shoot a friend and blood splatters from his CT chest. A vurtual world to run around in. Holy crap, this sounds cooler the more I talk about it...

JediKirby

thanks for the discussion guys, I couldn't for the life of me work out why they'd need to do this in realtime. but wow, now that you've explained it....that's pretty freaking amazing. will revolutionalise gaming.

First 2 things that jumped into my mind were sports coverage and advertising.