Contributed by regular guest blogger Gareth Murran, ThirdForce Innovation Team

Ever since Pong was introduced to arcades in the early 1970s computer graphics have continued to become much more sophisticated. Soon, game graphics will seem all too real. In the next decade, developers plan to pull graphics out of your television screen or computer display and integrate them into real-world environments. This new technology, called Augmented Reality (AR), will further blur the line between what’s real and what’s computer-generated by enhancing what we see, hear, feel and smell.

Video games often drive innovation. First the Wii and now project Natal which is Microsoft’s fully hands-free control system that will use face recognition and motion sensors to allow users to play games. The demo has to be seen to be believed. The technology looks very interesting but its success will depend on the content and how easy it is to use.

More commonly known examples of AR are the branded rugby fields and cricket pitches showing their sponsor’s logos. Giant logos are inserted onto the fields when viewed on television. Whereas two years ago AR visual trickery was only within the grasp of high end developers it is now possible to implement AR using Adobe Flash. There is a bunch of demos literally flying around the web at the moment, the most impressive of which are from General Electric and Papa John Pizza’s . All that you need to get started is a web cam and a printer.

Whilst AR that appears in your field of view is still some way off, we currently have the technology with location based services on mobile phones to implement induction or performance support training that incorporates AR. Picture an employee walking around their work environment with a GPS and RFID enabled mobile device and a t-shirt that has the required AR pattern. Whilst relatively simple to implement this would be a game changer in terms of transfer of skills to the work place.