One of the issues about getting an Internet of Things to actually be an immersive experience combing both ‘real’ and ‘virtual’ worlds is to get get both to work in tandem. In essence this requires that both augment each other and barriers between them, the largest of which is the way we use new media, the visibility of the technology and the obstacles that interfaces often create rather than solve, are broken down.

We have ways (albeit simple ways) of now enabling things to be active, to connect, which include Data Matrix, Semacode, R.F.I.D. etc. but what they trigger or connect to online is still relatively standard web content that can not respond or interact with those things. One area of research dealing with the ‘real’ and ‘virtual’ worlds working in tandem and which is recently employing ideas connected to the Internet of Things is Augmented Reality.

What follows is primarily a collection of links on this topic, an introduction to what Augmented Reality can do, where to start and what to know.

Dual Reality Lab (image below left of software and Plug hardware) is a research node at M.I.T. Medialab which Josh Lifton a Phd student in the Responsive Environments Group is involved with. Dual reality is:

the concept of maintaining two worlds, one virtual and one real, that reflect, influence, and merge into each other by means of deeply embedded sensor/actuator networks. Both the real and virtual components of a dual reality are complete unto themselves, but are enriched by their mutual interaction. The dual reality Media Lab is an example of such a dual reality, as enabled the Plug sensor/actuator network that links our actual lab space to a virtual lab space in the Second Life online virtual world.

Free Network, Visible Network (which I posted about a few days ago) by the Mixed Reality Lab at the National University of Singapore is a good example project from a whole range of projects and research they have initiated concerned with these issues of mixing ‘real’ and ‘virtual’.

The ARToolKit is one software library you could use to build your own Augmented Reality projects / interfaces. Below are images of projects created with ARToolKit. Timo Arnall has an interesting write up of some experiments he did with this free for non-commercial use software library.

ARTag (image and videos below) is another system which uses tags (very similar to Data Matrix tags):

where virtual objects, games, and animations appear to enter the real world. 3D graphics is added in real time to video, similar to “view matching” in Hollywood, except that with Augmented Reality it is happening online. ARTag “Magic Lens” and “Magic Mirror” systems use arrays of the square ARTag markers added to objects or the environment allowing a computer vision algorithm to calculate the camera “pose” in real time, allowing the CG (computer graphics) virtual camera to be aligned. This gives the illusion of 3D animations or video games to appear to belong in the real world.

Post partially inspired by this post at Turbulance.