Second date at the Mall : IS this really happening?

So I start thinking should I call her or not?  Five days have already  passed . Is  it enough?  I don´t want Augmented to think that I am all in to her. I really like her but one step at a time… ok  ok just call her! The least that can happen is a NO for an answer.

Hi Augmented Reality how was your week?  I was wondering if you wanted to go out for a drink tomorrow. She answers:  Yes, I would love to but please can I choose the place? I want to take somewhere special!

The next day, I picked her up, we got into the taxi and she gave an address to the driver. Suddenly, we arrived at a mall! What an exciting place …. Does she really think I am a girl and want to go shopping with me?  I can´t believe it! And I thought she was an interesting girl.

We got off the taxi, and she said: I just need to buy a dress. I promise it is going to be fast!  I wanted to shoot myself!  Friday night at a mall?  Was this actually happening? Anyway.. We went in and people, especially kids, were doing strange movements- standing, sitting, avoiding objects, etc.  I gave a quick look and there was nothing!  I decided to pay more attention and all of a sudden I started seeing dinosaurs, tigers and dolphins in the middle of the mall.  She started laughing at me!!  Are you surprised?   This is how companies do their advertising now this is National Geographic but Coca Cola, Kia, L’Oreal, Nike, Puma, etc. are creating campaigns using me so their customers can actually live the experience and try their products!

I wish I could describe everything that I saw because it was a great feeling. Maybe this video can illustrate a bit more http://bit.ly/1e0cOun .  I was stunned, maybe because I come from a small city, but people in the mall where indeed having fun and felt comfortable with this. She kept laughing at me and pulled my hand. She said: Come on let´s go! We have to buy the dress!

When we got to the store, I noticed there were no fitting rooms...  She told me, watch this!  

First, a virtual image of augmented body appeared on the screen, then, different clothes in different patterns and colors showed in the screen. Moreover, It was really funny to see augmented moving  her hands like she was crazy but she was actually selecting the clothes and trying  options that  fitted  her until she found the perfect dress.  Again I would love to explain, what I saw so maybe this short video can help http://bit.ly/16t5DgO . It took us five minutes to shop! In that moment I fell in love with her! 

So when we were leaving the mall she stopped me, looked at me and asked:  Did you like our date?  She confessed she did everything on purpose.  She  got the perception on our first date that I didn´t really understand how she was , how augmented  reality felt and all the things she could create and do, therefore,  she wanted to make me experience her at the mall .  She also explained that it is  used  in many  industries like art , archeology ,architecture , education , medical , industrial design , etc. . Nowadays, we see her everywhere because technology is a natural thing and part of our lives so we do not recognize it as augmented reality.  I went home amused and  the only thought  I had was that I wanted to see her again to learn more! 

My first date with Augmented Reality

It’s time to go now! A last look at my hair and I am ready for my first date with her. I am excited but a bit anxious too…I think that’s normal since I don’t know anything about her and the first impression will be crucial!

She starts to introduce herself: “I am Augmented Reality, the enrichment of human sensorial perception through the addition of information, typically manipulated and conveyed electronically…The information I give you  can not be perceived  through the use of the 5 senses alone. Sometimes, I can even reduce the amount of information you perceive,.”

“Oh yes!” I think.  “I get it... It’s like Virtual Reality, isn’t it?” Damn! I’ve just made the first mistake… She replies “Actually no! In virtual reality, the manipulated information becomes dominant, to the extent that changes the environment so much that you cannot distinguish between reality and the new virtual environment! By contrast, augmented reality just adds few features, but the overall environment remains the same”

I think, “Wow, that seems cool but….How can I get into an augmented world?!” She promptly satisfies my curiosity: “Basically, there are 2 types of augmented reality: the one provided by Mobile phones - which analyzes the surrounding environment and adds different layers, such as point of interest, 3D elements – and the one provided by Computers - based on the use of markers, AR tags, and stylized drawings to which multimedia contents (video, audio, 3D objects) are added to create the augmented reality environment.”

Whaaaaaaaaaat?!?! I definitely need to bring this conversation back to basics! I need some examples… “Well, there are tons of the possible applications of augmented reality: think of football matches and the line that appears on the television to indicate whether a player is offsides … That’s augmented reality! Think of when you are a tourist in a city… All the applications on your mobile phone that provide you real time information regarding a location and its feature, those are augmented reality as well!”

Cool! I am very curious now and I would like to ask a lot of questions but…It’s late and she has to go home L ! Please, let’s keep in touch! It would be amazing to see you again and to learn more about you!