Application of Augmented Reality to Learning Experiences

A new buzz in the web technology community has been the advent of Augmented Reality (AR), a technology that allows for the projection of 3D objects or displays onto a live web camera or other visual input device. This technology has been present for some time, but the real-world application of it is becoming increasingly simple and available. Recently, GE released a pretty amazing AR application that promotes their Smart Grid technology using Adobe Flash and the FLARToolkit.

I'm fascinated with the implications of these kinds of technologies on learning, and spent some time working up a proof-of-concept for a client that demonstrates the ability to use the technology behind AR not to project per se, but provide useful contextual information, when someone is browsing a book for example.

See the demo here.