“Through the looking glass: envisioning new library technologies”Augmented reality in the (real) library world – part one

Citation

Accart, J.-P. (2014), "“Through the looking glass: envisioning new library technologies”Augmented reality in the (real) library world – part one", Library Hi Tech News, Vol. 31 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/LHTN-12-2013-0072

“Through the looking glass: envisioning new library technologies”Augmented reality in the (real) library world – part one

Article Type: Column From: Library Hi Tech News, Volume 31, Issue 1

Keywords: Libraries

Is augmented reality science fiction?

Augmented reality (AR) allows the enrichment of the real world using digital information and as it is still unknown, is often considered as science fiction. But is it really science fiction? From its beginning in the 1960s, this technology was used for sciences, industry and military affairs, due to its cost and the complexity of its development and the infrastructure required. With the development of mobile technologies, especially devices and tablets which bring together all the necessary components for its operation, AR is now very close to take an important place in the real world and in our daily life. In this column we will explain what is AR and see possibilities offered by AR in libraries. In the future next column on the same topic, I will focu on AR in libraries.

History of AR in a nutshell

Cultural institutions mostly in English speaking countries were the first to understand the extensive possibilities offered by such a technology, in education for example or to reduce the gap between physical and digital services. QR codes or geo-location become more and are more common and widely used now, and they are the first components of AR. Let’s now have a quick look at the beginning of AR.

The term “AR” is introduced for the first time in 1992 by Tom Caudell and David Mizell, scientists working for the Boeing company, in order to point out computerized reality. Two years later in 1994, Paul Milgram and Fumio Kishino, professors and engineers, wrote about a mixed reality as “[…] anywhere between the extrema of the virtuality continuum (VC)”, where the VC extends from the completely real through to the completely virtual environment with AR and augmented virtuality ranging in between. In this model, there is one side completely real one side in a complete virtual environment, which can melt one into the other to be what is called a mixed reality. In 1997, a second definition is set out by the researcher Ronald Azuma: according to him:

AR allows one who uses it to collect virtual objects linked with the real environment, so that it should be under the impression that these last coexist in the same space, as it is the case in some movies where the actors interact with virtual creatures (e.g. Star Wars).

AR has the three following characteristics:

1. combination of the real and the virtual;

2. real-time interaction; and

3. alignment of the real and the virtual environments in three dimensions.

Understanding what is augmented reality

AR enlarges the individual’s perception of the real world overlaying digital information. It does not replace the real environment as virtual reality does, but complete it. Different kind of technologies can be associated, because they contribute to “blur the boundaries between the physical and virtual environment to provide information and an interaction depending on the context and the location”: as Brigite Jordan said in her article “Blurring boundaries: the ‘real’ and the ‘virtual’ in hybrid spaces” published in 2009 in human organization. Thus, the information added to reality is not necessarily three-dimensional or two-dimensional, but may takes the form of a web page that opens on a mobile terminal or action that is automatically activated (sending an SMS, dialing a phone number, etc.).

Which technologies can be associated to AR?

The following typology for the AR can be established:

* markers in two dimensions or QR codes;

* augmented objects;

* geo-tagging and geo-location; and

* near field communication (NFC).

QR codes

Quick response (QR) codes are a type of two-dimensional barcodes that can be read using smartphones and dedicated QR reading devices, that link directly to text, emails, websites, phone numbers and more! QR codes are slowly beginning to become commonplace. Already you can see QR codes on product packaging, shop displays, printed and billboard advertisements as well as in emails and on websites. The scope of use for QR codes is really huge, particularly for the marketing and advertising of products, brands, services and […] libraries!

Augmented objects

After its recognition through an image by a camera or through a marker, an object can have three dimensions or two-dimensions: it is necessary to launch the application in AR (on a computer for example), which will capture the image of the augmented object, or allowing the scanning of the marker. For example, with a radio: the software activates when a user points their smartphone or tablet at an object, in this case a radio. Once the AR application recognizes the radio, it then brings up an intuitive graphical interface to program the object’s behavior. In this case, the user was able to use an iPad to drag several songs from a playlist to one of the radio’s knobs, reprogramming its stations on the fly.

Near field communication

Mobile technologies with its applications for information services and libraries are expanding. The NFC technology – seems promising: a simple touch on the cell phone which contains the necessary information, plus a connection to a terminal, and it is possible to pay for purchases in a store, to get onto a train, a plane or a bus. Other developments are or will be soon be at hand, such as the delivery of tickets (for concerts, or matches […]) or in museums wishing more interaction with their visitors. NFC allows exchanges of information at short distance from an object to the Internet. The object has to be placed in front of a NFC sensor and is automatically linked with the Internet. It is especially useful for seniors if they are not at ease with technology: they do not need to know how to type or use a mouse pad, what they have to do is placing the object containing the NFC technology in front of the screen and they could get information from the internet.

NFC makes life easier and more convenient for consumers around the world by making it simpler for transactions, exchanges of digital content, and electronic connections with a touch. NFC also allows connections between two NFC-enabled devices such as mobile phones. More generally, a standards-based connectivity technology, NFC harmonizes today’s diverse contactless technologies, enabling current and future solutions in areas such as:

* access control;

* consumer electronics;

* healthcare;

* information collection and exchange;

* loyalty and coupons;

* payments; and

* transport.

(see the NFC forum for more information about this technology: http://www.nfc-forum.org/aboutnfc).

Geo-tagging and geo-location

The location-based AR works on the same principle as the augmented objects. Nevertheless, it is not markers or images which identify the augmented objects, but geographic information.

Some AR examples

The simulation of sensations – visual, auditory, touching – are all ways for perceiving AR. To do this, different interfaces are used, it may be headphones or speakers regarding auditory perception, gloves or clothing which pick up the movements for haptic perception. But the visual perception is really what is used most for AR systems.

In order to experience a visual perception of AR, it is necessary to have a device that combines the following elements: a display, an input device, a marker and AR software. The display allows the user to simultaneously perceive the real environment and the virtual elements incorporated therein (augmented objects and geo-location) or consult information about an object (QR and NFC codes).

In 2012, Google introduced the “glass project”. It is s a head-up display device taking the form of a pair of glasses. Informations is projected in front of one eye. The user can then navigate as if on a smartphone with tactile sensors placed in one of the branches of the device. Still in phase one of testing at the present time, these AR glasses should begin to be marketed in 2014.

AR technologies can be applied in various fields with examples such as:

* Marketing and advertising. QR code placed on an advertising poster so the client can get information from products catalogue.

* Technical assistance. Scheme in three dimensions for explain the operation of a technical device.

* Tourism. Geo-location of monuments to visit in a city.

* Home. Furniture three-dimensional models to help the development of an apartment.

At the University of Manitoba (Canada), Liv Valmestad, librarian, conducted a project using AR to highlight located works in a public space, such as sculptures or pieces of architecture. For this, she combined the use of geo-location and QR codes. At first, works were photographed and their connection information (title, author, etc.) was drafted. At each work she assigned information about geo-location using the mobile application “GPS Motion X”. These have been uploaded in Google Earth to create geographical benchmarks for each art work. The properties of benchmarks have been edited to add photos and the relevant information, but also a list of resources from the university library relating to artists, along with links to the corresponding records in the library catalog. The work carried out on Google Earth was then integrated into Wikitude, enabling the overlay display of geographical markers created in the real environment.

In a second step, a web page has been created for each art object, containing the same information that in the geographical benchmarks, in order to link its URL to a QR code placed beside each work (have a look to: http://tour.library.oregonstate.edu/maps).

In an article untitled “Augmented reality: a review”, (Medical Reference Services Quarterly, May 2012), Donna R. Berryman imagined a scenario in which a user enters for the first time in a library holding a mobile terminal. On his screen, he could see the environment, a map of the library, where the press is located or the reference books, different collections classified with subjects, and also where is the reference desk. If this person is looking for a specific document, then the location of the book is shown, together with a link to the direct way to get it […].

More on AR and libraries in my next column!

Jean-Philippe Accart
(jpaccart@gmail.com) is based at Programme MAS ALIS – Historische Institut, Universities of Bern and Lausanne, Bern, Switzerland