Augmented Reality in Apps

I was recently introduced to a load of useful apps against my will. It ended up being a pretty interesting experience. The uses for these apps ranged from everyday convenience, such as Where To Go?, to even professional use, like Camcard. An app that I personally find enjoyable is Adobe Sketch, which is a more convenient version of a sketchbook. It’s great for artists and hobbyists alike.

The other half of the app revolved mainly around the concept of augmented reality, which is defined as

“an enhanced image or environment as viewed on a screen or display, produced by overlaying computer-generated images, sounds, or other data on real-world environment.”

To sum it up, it’s cool and it’s the future. Drew Minock describes augmented reality as comparable to the paintings in Hogwarts. This concept has a great amount of potential. Remember those silly JumpStart or ClueFinder games? Take ClueFinders for example and imagine it as if you were actually part of the gang, solving problems and exploring as if you were actually there. If this were when I played them, I wouldn’t have stopped 15 minutes into the game.

So what else can we do with this? Well when you apply augmented reality to an app, you get something along the lines of ZooKazam. You know, abra kadabra alakazam? I thought it was funny. As long as users have a target, they can bring animals wherever they go. The app includes 40 animals and 10 dinosaurs. It doesn’t seem like much, but it’s possible to add more animals in the future. I personally don’t see many uses for this in art education, except maybe to help artists with still life drawings.

Lastly, the app I find most useful is the upcoming Presentation Hero. Aside from the lame name, I find this app has the potential to be the most useful one that I came across this past week. I say this because I stress the importance of presentation and public speaking. This skill is absolutely essential in life due to almost every field requiring some kind of verbal contact. The better talker you are, the easier it is to get on people’s good sides. Unfortunately I’m horrible at this, which is where Presentation Hero would come in handy. The app puts the viewer under the spotlight and transforms a mundane mirror, wall, or whatever you talk to into a crowded auditorium; it’s perfect practice for public speaking. However, the main downside is that the user knows everything is fake, resulting in less pressure. Nonetheless an extremely useful app.