Hedon Blog in Augmented Reality experiment

WE TOLD YOU back in May 2012 that the Hedon Blog was part of an experiment called HypARlocal which would explore how mobile phones and the iPad and other tablet computers could be used to find stories associated with a particular street or location – well, the latest part of that experiment has been published and Hedon is one of only eight places in the country taking part.

Layar is an App that can be downloaded to your mobile phone or device. The Company explains what it is all about on their website:

“Layar is an industry-leading company at the forefront of the rapidly emerging medium of augmented reality (AR). AR is a way viewing digital information which has been superimposed – or augmented – onto a live view of the physical, real-world environment around you.

Geolocation-based AR uses GPS, compass and other sensors in a user’s mobile phone to provide a “heads-up” display of various geolocated points-of-interest.”

HypARlocal have now published their Apollo layar – and if you install the Layar App and search for HypARlocal Apollo then you too can be part of the experiment.

The image taken above shows the type of views available at the moment – but you can also view local stories on a map of Hedon or as a list. When you view the grey balls, the associated story should pop up at the bottom.

After playing around with the App around Hedon, it all does seem a bit haphazard. Some articles seem more persistent in appearing, while others have been originally geolocated in completely the wrong position – some flash up but don’t quite stay still in the viewing screen to capture successfully.

This is an experiment at the moment – but it does show what might be possible as this technology develops in the future.

The App allows you to take a snapshot of what you are viewing – please install the App, have a play and send us your snapshots.

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