Augmented Reality. What?

Posted November 18th, 2009 by Albert Banks

If you haven’t heard of Augmented Reality, here’s the scoop. AR is a live view of the physical world merged with virtual digital information and/or imagery. The concept has been around in the military and industrial applications for years.

You’ve probably seen the technology in use without realizing it. Those first down lines on field during the television broadcast of football games? Yep, that’s AR!

Recently, this technology has gained popularity in many consumer settings.

Advertisers are using it to promote new products via cool interactive experiences. Service providers are using it to present relevant location aware information. Many cities, museums and theme parks are using it to add virtual objects to their existing  physical environment.

Like any technology of the brink of popularity, we have to question if it is fad or future. Fast Company recent addressed this exact question. Myjive believes this one is here to stay. All you have to do is look at the many potential applications already being explored.

Yelp’s iPhone App Monocle feature
Augmented Reality Contact Lenses
Canon’s MR Aquarium
Jack’s Links Living Sasquatch

As we like to say here at the office, “The future is going to be so cool.” And with AR, the future is here.

Workplace Technology Generation Gap

Posted April 24th, 2009 by Albert Banks

Baby Boomers and Generation Y are now cohabitants in the workforce. As Sarah Perez notes in her recent article, the technology gap between the generations at work is “Oh So Wide.” The results of a study released by business information solutions provider LexisNexis are quite illuminating.

Gen Y spends 10.6 hours per day browsing social networks, news sites, blogs, forums, and multimedia sharing sites while Boomers clock in at only 5.6 hours.

A majority (62%) of Gen Y employees interact with a social network while at work, but only a fraction of Boomers do (14%).

A majority of Boomer feel PDAs and mobile phones negatively affect workplace etiquette and don’t believe laptops should be used by participants of in-person meetings. Less than half of Gen Y agrees.

As the complexion of the workplace evolves, will the Boomers change their views or will the younger generations continue to frustrate their bosses? Time will tell.