Exploring New Territories

Glass Fractal On My Literal Desktop

Diamond Fractal On My Literal Desk

Yes, both of these fractals have been “rendered” directly onto my literal desktop!  Both renders are at 640×480 low-resolution to test out a great new technology.  What you see in the above two images are 3D fractals, rendered into the “real world”.  Both fractal designs were done rather quickly so as to simply test out this technology.  Take note of how in the top image the fractal defies gravity in several instances. I have several fun ideas for using it in the near future.

So how exactly is this exciting development made possible?  The answer comes down to augmented reality. What exactly is augmented reality?  What does it hold for the future of art and design?

Augmented reality is a sub-domain of computer vision, and considered an extension of virtual reality.  It is a term for a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input which can include both sound and graphics.  It combines real and virtual, can be interactive in real time, and is registered in 3D.  An example of AR that you may be very familiar with is the yellow “first down” line seen in television broadcasts of American Football games.

AR has a plethora of potential uses.  It can open many new doors in the world, such as being able to use your cell phone to look at a room and your house and see what a piece of art would look like in real-time, right there on your very own wall.  Perhaps in the future you will be able to try on jewelry from an online store from the comfort of your living room.  As far as I know, these technologies are not currently available and I’m simply dreaming out loud.  But don’t despair, they could very well be reality in the not so distant future.

What kind of applications for augmented reality would you like to see happen?