roundaboutnow

dick applebaum said:

Just dloaded the TapMeasure App and ran it on my iPad Pro...
...



* SketchUp was originally developed by Google, then abandoned/sold to Trimble.  Bet they're having second thoughts, now...

Actually, SketchUp was first developed by @ Last Software in 1999/2000. Google acquired Sketchup in 2006.

One of the reasons why I think augmentation on top of actual reality has far more promise than isolated VR is that it can maintain a connection to the physical, three-dimensional world around us. Plus, theoretically, "augmentation" can be scalable from showing just a few ID tags on top of objects, all the way to full immersion/VR, if you really need it.

The implications of this are far reaching. Everything from warehousing and industrial maintenance, to research, and to way-finding and entertainment could be built on the same basic platform.

While we are probably a ways off from a "retina" resolution AR system, in one example, I can imagine that my desktop monitors give way to "virtual" monitors, that may be "anchored" in place on my physical desk, but can be sized, re-positioned, or multiplied easily. 3D imagery would be a snap. Heck, even that pile of physical papers and other crap could be augmentations that can be searched, shuffled, swept away and restored with a few gestures. Kind of like Minority Report, but without some big, physical projection/display system viewable by anyone else in the room.

I can't imagine that this future office wouldn't still be surrounded by many physical things, like a chair and desk. And I would not want to lose my actual coffee cup with my actual coffee in it! (Hopefully, I won't mistake it for an AR cup and try to sweep it off my desk too).

PS: As the Google Glass episode reminds me, I realize there are social issues that go along with the notion of a population having the capability of walking around in public with AR. Like I say, far reaching implications...both positive and negative.