Release of TechWatch Report on Augmented Reality for Smartphones

A new TechWatch report entitled Augmented Reality for Smartphones has now been released. It was commissioned by UKOLN as part of JISC Observatory work and was written by Ben Butchart of EDINA, based at the University of Edinburgh. The report is primarily designed for developers and content publishers who want to take advantage of the latest developments in smartphone and augmented reality (AR) technology in order to create novel and exciting new learning experiences. The report offers a comprehensive overview of AR browsers and Points of Interest (POI) authoring and publishing tools.

The report has been through an open review process and has been both peer-reviewed by experts in the field and made publicly available for comment. During the review process, science fiction writer Bruce Stirling commented on the report in the online magazine Wired:

This is a fine piece of comprehensive research work. If you're an AR developer or content guy, you're gonna want a printout of this lying around, so you can brandish it at people. You'll look like you know what you're talking about!

The report is the first in a series of TechWatch reports that are currently being commissioned by the JISC Observatory.

The JISC Observatory is a JISC-funded initiative to systematise the way in which the JISC anticipates and responds to projected future trends and scenarios in the context of the use of technology in Higher and Further Education, and Research in the UK. The development and management of the JISC Observatory represents the first major collaboration between CETIS and UKOLN in their role as JISC Innovation Support Centres.

The final report is available from the JISC Observatory Web site.