Just the other day my internship mentor, Colin Alsheimer of LevelTen Interactive, showed me a new app on his iPhone called Layar. Basically what I had to do was move his iPhone around the office and what I found blew my mind. The screen showed images of people Tweeting nearby in real time!
And when I launched Yelp's Monocle I saw all the restaurants and bars near my area. I asked myself, what is this great new technology that I'm witnessing?
Well, it's the current application of technology called Augmented Reality, the latest in emerging technology being added to current smartphones.

I thought, Augmented Reality? Sounds like some new dimension! But in actuality, augmented reality refers to computer displays that add virtual information to a user's sensory perceptions. Most augmented reality research focuses on see-through devices, usually worn on the head, that overlay graphics and text on the user's view of his or her surroundings, but now this technology is being implemented in current smartphones. Think of it as virtual reality but in the real world.

I see a lot of potential for this new technology in all industries. Construction contractors can get the right tools they need by pointing their smartphones at the materials to look up information, police officers can scan the layout of a building before following a suspect in, paramedics can scan victims and immediately download any physical conditions or allergies that the victims may have on record and if you're a tourist and are lost just point in any location to display a map on your screen.

Already, a Yale student named Max Uhlenhuth designed an iPhone app using augmented reality to give Yale visitors on-site information about the major landmarks on campus.

If you do own an iPhone or an Android based smartphone, it's definitely an app to download and if you have a business idea that utilizes augmented reality, now's the time to go for it. In this age where content is open to everybody, the ideas are endless.

Related Reading

• 11 Location Based Applications for Your iPhone
• Designing for the iPhone
• Get Mobile Friendly Or Get Left Behind