The next step for SL

I think we're coming close to having the ability to combine our Second Life with our real life in some new and interesting ways. Having seen how the interaction in Second Life has been so successfully implemented it is not that much further of a step to combine it with real world interaction.

For those of you who don't know what Augmented Reality is, it is a form of overlaying 3dcg real-time renderings over your vision of the real world. This method uses clear glasses with headtracking ability. The glasses also show you 3d objects that track along with what you see. It has also been implemented with a pda that has a built in camera. You point it while looking at the screen and you can see what the camera sees, except you can could also see an avitar standing right there with its feet on the real ground. We are at the point where some of the latest pdas can have broadband wireless connections. As the speed of the processors increases so with the ability to have rich content similar to Second Life that can be seen perfectly tracking with the RW.

If you could use something like google maps 3d together with second life you could have people meet and talk and find places of interest that relate 1 to 1 with the real world and real world stores. They could have texture maps of Real World Buildings on the sides of Polygons like on google maps 3d only people could own the space they actually own in the RW, if they chose to purchase the VR space. They could have floating kiosks or movie banners or any number of creative advertisement or informative content like what already exists in SL. You could shop online, using the new inworld browser functionality. Just click on a building and find out about its history or layout, the companies inside, contacts, audio. People could be hired to use their VR avitars to act as hosts to their site(meaning 3d VR site). This is all possible without going Augmented, but that would be a cool next step where you could point your pda at a building and find out information about it floating in the air or see gps Arrows on the ground pointing you the way to your destination.

The idea being, you could have the Net and the metaverse(like SL) and the Real World all at your disposal to get at information as fast as you want it, in a fun and cool way and extend your capablities. You can go there from your home computer and teleport there first and only see the metaverse or internet content or have a virtual meeting or go shopping but it also corresponds to the real world so you can actually go there and see the rich 3d content right there in front of you when you want to just by holding your pda up to it. It's like a world on top of our own.

Of course you could always post a tringo game on the side of your building if you really wanted to draw people in.
Just wait, if Second Life or Google don't do it. I know someone will, really soon.
The internet will become the outerNet.
Any thoughts?
-Bastage Beeks

So where do i buy these glasses?!?! Do they take Lindens?!?!?! )

I can't wait!!

I have done some reading on Augmented Reality and it absolutly amazes me. I really can't wait until someone puts something like this together. My mind races with how it can be used. Every industry could benefit and use it in someway. It will be a world changing event!

I read a really good article here about it. It's what mostly got me excited about it.

Whoah, that's really cool that I'm not the only one thinking we're finally ready for it, and that Second Life is the perfect example of how to implement it! Your right, that article rocks!

I saw a really great pda demo, rather simple, of a virtual train following around on a real toy train track that was in real world. You could move the pda up close or around the train as it chugged along. It was very cool. This was at the Siggraph CG convention. I think we'd need some serious ram to get much use out of it on a pda. I've also heard of a pda using gps along with an audio program to tell you about the sites.

I foresee this technology resulting in budget strip-clubs, the advantage that you can't smell all the sweaty excited men