A recent patent application put forth by Apple hints at an augmented reality future for the iPhone. The application details the use of a portable device that can recognize real world objects and then provide related information. This could be done through a camera, RFID reader, RF or barcode scanning, further augmented by the use of GPS to determine location and other methods of providing context.
Imagine walking down a street looking for a place to eat in an unfamiliar city. You could walk by a restaurant, snap a picture of the building, and then the phone would recognize it and return you a menu, contact number, and possibly even a history of the restaurant.
Apple further extends the patent to cover a method of documenting objects that have been recognized by a given portable device. For example, if you go to a museum and take pictures of all the exhibits, the system would retain the objects along with the added metadata such as what it is, how old it is, and what its GPS coordinates are.
I should point out that Nokia is a bit ahead here with its beta product Point & Find. However Point & Find targets a much smaller niche–specifically mobile shopping. Currently the application recognizes product barcodes and returns information such as price and recognizes movie posters, returning show times near you, etc.
Augmented reality will be a big industry in the very near future, I predict. And much of its success relies on the use of location to add context to real world objects.
