The phone is not the point, it is about augmented reality.

So Google launched their Nexus One recently, and there was much rejoicing. Or not. You can read all about Nexus One here and form your own opinion, that's not what this blog is about: http://ping.fm/RgxkX

I don't think anyone was expecting the next quantum leap in smartphones from a design perspective. There are a few things here and there that may set the device apart from the iPhone, HTC Touch, BlackBerry, etc., but I don't think the phone was the point.

Not too long ago, with barely a blip on the radar of both news outlets and bloggers, Google launched Google Goggles. This is the first application I have seen that throws a layer of information on top of reality without, you know, virtual reality googles and some goofy glove. Again, this isn't an in-depth review of Goggles, but you can read about what is coming here: http://ping.fm/phsYp

The point of this particular blog post has to do with two topics called locative media (LM) and augmented reality (AR). Specifically, the effect of LM and AR on our relationship with the real world. Some people also refer to this as pervasive computing, geohacking, and other more interesting terms such as psychogeography. There's a whole study that was done on this, results published here:

http://ping.fm/gmzQR

Just picture for a moment that without pulling out a mobile phone, laptop, tablet computer or virtual reality helmet you can see the following:

Pictures, personal notes, annotations, links, detail and reference information within your own field of vision as you look down a busy city street. Your favorite vintage music instrument store has a coupon because you're a member, that sushi restaurant just got another great review on Yelp, and the news van parked on the corner is doing a story on local politics, particularly on the candidate you chose to support through a campaign donation. You are seeing this because you choose to have this information fed directly to your neural implant that is constantly connected to the Internet. This neural implant overlays this information on top of your regular, non-altered, good old fashioned reality. You can simply "think" filters, and the sheen of data is reduced, or turned off completely.

Sounds crazy, right?

It's called augmented reality, or AR. AR doesn't necessarily mean art, media, or graphics. That's where the "locative media" concept comes into play. Nor does it necessarily have to do with location, that's where geotagging and geohacking make their mark. AR is basically Reality 2.0.

Sadly, there is no elective surgery option to get that neural interface for your birthday. But, you do have a mobile phone. And, chances are, this phone is smart enough to be connected to the Internet and have a camera.

Enter augmented reality applications.

The two apps that have caught a lot of buzz have been the aforementioned Google Goggles, and the Wikitude World Browser. Many other apps are in the works and have been followed by the folks at Augmented Planet: http://ping.fm/uOY1X

But I digress. These are all interesting ideas, but they aren't new. What's new is how we interact with the information.

Until now, you may get this information on Google Maps or Mapquest or any other mapping website. But, again, you are tied to the map search paradigm: the "where is the nearest gas station" question.

So, when do we stop asking questions? Do we simply set up AR filters dynamically based on personal preference (manual) or automatically have data appear based on activity generated from all our web searching, facebooking, tweeting, music listening, dining, shopping, and blogging (automatic)? Time will tell.

So that's useful information.  What about the AR "art installations" mentioned in William Gibson's book "Spook Country"?  Also known as locative art, or "art tied to a specific location".  In the book, some artists took a darker path, like layering a perfectly rendered and lighted corpse of River Phoenix on top of the exact location where his body was found.  Others were more lighthearted, placing poppy fields in your bedroom, but only when you had the virtual reality "goggles" on.

The point is: layering information, art, detail, or advertising on top of our reality (augmenting it) changes how we view the world.  It brings forth into the visual reality that which we have had to remember, or reference in a notebook, directions, an email on a mobile device.

Augmented Reality is detail outsourcing.  All the subtle nuance, memory, history, and information about a location is suddenly available by simply pointing a camera towards what you care about.  It's up to us to decide who augments our reality, and who remains muted in the information background.  The world is noisy enough, let's make this new version of reality useful.