Thing 21 - Mobile, QR, AR!

In this week’s posting we were asked to go and explore a few items under Thing 21, these being Mobile, QR and Augmented reality.

I have had a smartphone for a little while now and I do find it helpful. I am always using it for looking up maps and other locations. The days of where the phone book and street atlas (hardcopy) came in handy are now a thing of the past……

I also use the smartphone for notes and emails as well as looking up websites and other applications for on the spot information when I need it. Now having such technology in the palm of my hand I can now look back and say that we are certainly spoilt for choice when it comes to available technologies today.

I managed to go and view a number of mobile sites using the smartphone. I can see where it is important to have the important information in a succinct format for ease of use. It is different to viewing a sites home page on the web where we have the mouse and we can go and click on different headings and icons. I think the option to have both mobile and the traditional home page to be both beneficial.  As I have mentioned in my other blog postings – society today is always on the go, we want information straight away, we want to find out things right now. The ability to access information instantaneously via mobile devices is not only an amazing thing but it’s also I think a positive step in the right direction.

Now when it comes to QR codes I had some knowledge of what it all meant.

Where I work our library has used QR codes in a number of ways, they are used to promote services and other important library information to our clients, particularly new users. It was also used as a library scavenger hunt, which the liaison librarians developed for orientation week. When QR codes were first mentioned at work I went and downloaded one of the apps where I could download a QR scanner to my smartphone. From there I was able to use the QR reader to scan the library QR codes that the librarians had made. I found this exercise to be very interesting. QR codes seem to have become popular of late. I have seen them on lots of different things from shopping catalogues to bus stop shelters. I see it as a good way of promoting a product and/or service in a way that if the person wants to know more all they do is scan the code.

When it comes to AR or Augmented Reality I knew very little about this except from what I have heard from the librarians whom I work with. They have started to use AR on some of the library signage. I decided to go and look more into what AR is all about. Thanks to wiki I was able to understand in more detail what AR means.

 “Augmented reality (AR) is a live, direct or indirect, view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data”

It seems to me as if AR is the new “it or must have” item. I have noticed that big companies are starting to use augmented reality when it comes to marketing of products and/or services. I can see a huge positive with AR, the ability that AR allows us to test drive a product all from the comfort of our smartphones or computers.  It does sound amazing. But I think we also have to be aware that not every person wants to use AR. Not everyone out there is tech savvy so I think we also have to take into account people who may not have such technologies. I know understand that there is more than just one type of AR. That the two most popular types are –

·         Web based where AR uses a computer or webcam to deliver its experience

·         Mobile based where we can use our smartphones to obtain AR.

I have noticed too there is a third type which I have seen mentioned and that is “kiosk based” This option seems to be the most expensive as it does away with the use of a webcam but instead needs a more costly kiosk to be constructed.

I can see a place for AR materials alongside the traditional formats. A good example could be say a library brochure. What a marvelous idea would it be to have such a thing by using AR. The traditional brochure or leaflet is something that can be all glossy and has all the good stuff on it, but if we were to have the same brochure in a augmented reality just imagine what it could look like if the brochure came to life in front of our eyes.

I also took the time to look at everything to do with Google Glass. Thanks to Kate I was able to view the Google Glass video. From what I saw it looks terrific.

Technology is changing at a fast pace. It is truly amazing what things are now being developed. As a child of the 80’s to think that things like AR and Google Glass could even exist and that things are evolving so quickly is in my opinion astonishing.

I recently read an interesting article about 3d technology.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2281188/Forget-ballpoint-The-30-pen-write-3D-using-plastic-wire.html

After reading the above article it made me want to buy such an item……..

I am just waiting for the day where we can teleport  J