Simon’s Blog

This contraption looks like a high-tech way to kill yourself, or worse get your iPhone smashed off your helmet when you ride through low hanging tree branches.

Augmented reality wasn’t supposed to be available until OS 3.1, but that hasn’t stopped Yelp from sneaking this feature into the new version of Yelp. When 3.1 comes out developers will be able to utilize an API for overlaying GPS information on the video camera output, which should bring about a bevy of AR apps, and hopefully one for the DC metro system.

Yelp is an app which let’s your search for nearby restaurants and other businesses and read reviews. You can imagine how useful AR would be in conveying this information, if you can’t check out these videos. You will need a 3GS because AR depends the magnetometer for a compass bearing.

AR is included as an Easter Egg, you have to shake the iPhone three times to activate it. It is speculated that this is why Yelp was approved by the app store, though I’m not sure why it would be rejected for including this feature (if they want to write there own AR function instead of waiting for Apple what is wrong with that?)

Once activated you will have a ‘monocle’ button. It’s pretty cool as a proof of concept, it gives you a good idea of where restaurants are around you, nearby restaurants have larger icons than distant ones. The small text is a bit hard to read, and the icons are cluttered with too much information (the number of reviews is unnecessary). You can only choose display restaurants, bars, or everything. It would be extremely useful to be able to choose other categories such as gas stations. Trying to use Yelp on the highway is impractical, because you are moving so fast display is constantly refreshing new nearby icons.

I’m not sure if I would use this more than the two dimensional map, but I will use it to make 3G owners jealous, and it’s fun to live in the future.

When I tell people about the iPhones digital compass, most people say ‘meh’.  Then I try to explain how this opens up the fascinating world of augmented reality, which is very hard to impart with words.  Check out these awesome vidoes.

Nearest Tubes locates subways in the UK.  I want this for the DC Metro.

Paris Metro

Pocket Universe shows you a star map.

Idunno about this one, you can see where person’s a located and then call them? Why not just call them? If it’s a person’s realtime location then that’s cool, but it’s probably just their home address.

iPhone 3GS Augmented Reality from Chris Hughes on Vimeo.

Imagine the implications of such ubiquitous AR!!!!!!! Eventually you will perceive the world exclusively through augmented reality optics, the naked eye is for losers.