ShareThisImagine for a moment seeing the world through the eyes of a Terminator cyborg. Information on objects, locations and people automatically pop up in real time as you encounter them.
Need directions to the nearest transit line? Virtual signposts instantly appear, guiding the way. Curious about the historic building you're looking at? A description floats into your view.
This far-fetched concept has been a dream for at least 20 years, but it's becoming real with the rise of augmented reality, which involves the layering of virtual imagery and information over a real-world environment.
The technology is coming to life through smart phones like the iPhone 3GS and Android devices that leverage Global Positioning System data, a digital compass, a camera and wireless connectivity.
With those components working in concert, augmented reality technology can sense what you're looking at in your phone's view finder and display relevant local data, such as Yelp reviews, Bing search listings or Wikipedia descriptions.
Paul Saffo, a futurist and consulting professor at Stanford University, said augmented reality is part of a larger trend of cheap sensors changing the way we live. With GPS, compasses, radio-frequency identification chips and other tools, people will learn to interact with and manipulate the world around them in an enhanced way.
"We're going to have lots of augmented reality in the future," Saffo said. "Everything you carry will have much more awareness about where it is and what's around it, whether you are interested or not."
Ravi Damani, CEO of Acrossair, which has released a dozen transit-finding applications, said the power of augmented reality is that it uses the awareness of your surroundings and delivers localized search results in a relevant, simple and easy-to-use way.
"It stops people from fiddling with their phone and instead you just hold up your phone to do things," he said.
Acrossair's San Francisco Nearest Transit app on the iPhone allows users to point a phone in any direction and see virtual signposts directing them to nearby bus and subway lines.
Amsterdam-based Layar recently released Reality Browser, which allows users to pull up information on local points of interest. San Francisco-based Yelp has included a feature called Monocle in its iPhone app, enabling 3GS users to get restaurant reviews from nearby restaurants. Other apps will allow you to see Tweets and personal messages -- tied to specific locations -- left by people.
The technology still faces many hurdles before it's widely adopted. There are concerns about battery-hungry augmented reality apps sapping the power out of mobile devices.
There are also issues with the accuracy of the results and the behavioral changes required for people to walk around while viewing the world through their mobile devices. And as more points of interest get plotted virtually, how will users wade through all the clutter?
"As the industry starts to grow, we'll develop new metrics and standards to sort through information so it's easier for users to understand," said Tim Sears, an independent developer behind Robotvision, which pulls up information from Microsoft's Bing search engine. "It's definitely going to get better but it's certainly useable now."
While augmented reality is still barely out of the gate, its long-term implications are even more tantalizing.
When paired with accurate object or facial recognition, a person could gather instant reviews of products on a grocery shelf or recall the name of an acquaintance. Carmakers are looking at building the technology into heads-up displays, allowing people to see directional information projected transparently on the windshield.
The ultimate goal would be to outfit people in such a way that augmented reality technology fits seamlessly into their lifestyle.
Babak Parviz, an associate professor of innovation at the University of Washington, has been working for the last five years on contact lenses that can be outfitted with circuits and antennas that could serve as augmented reality goggles.
"We have a lot of information displayed in a passive way on computers, smart phones, TVs or billboards," Parviz said. "But if the display is on the eye, a lot of that can go away."
E-mail Ryan Kim at rkim(at)sfchronicle.com. For more stories visit scrippsnews.com
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