Augmented reality is pretty fucking cool right? I mean how could it not be – projecting fake stuff onto real stuff is an inherently cool use of technology. Given these high base levels of cool, you’d be forgiven for thinking that it wouldn’t be too hard to come up with something at least reasonably cool, even for a socially crippled and chronically uncool games designer. Arcade Reality – an AR shooter for the iphone – comprehensively stomps that theory however. Quite honestly, it looks about as much fun as masturbating with an electric sander. Who cares that you can tackle nasty aliens in your office/car/vermin infested bedroom when they look as awful as this.

Saw this cool iPhone 3GS application by Acrossair today on AppleInsider and it really excited me on the prospects for useful augmented reality (AR) applications, not just ones used to sell things like cars.

I think as we see more and more capable phones we are going to see a real directional shift in developing media for the mobile platform. As the interactive element becomes more noticable, instead of just point-and-click, we will have to walk to and around our applications to interact with them. At The Processor we think this is really exciting. A good example may be the developer looking to build in a public space, and through AR they could let residents know how the building will look in situ and how it may affect their environment. The AR app will allow us to engage in a very different way from just looking at a computer screen to physically getting involved.

An exciting future for AR applications lies ahead.