Qualcomm yesterday released an “Augmented Reality SDK” for Android that they’ll hope developers will use in order to deliver “interactive 3D content for the real world”. What does that marketing drivel actually mean? Simple, they want lots of applications out there that can take advantage of the processing power of Snapdragon chipsets, and apps that also fully utilize features such as GPS and a compass, so that you as a consumer can feel bad about the multi year old piece of plastic and metal inside your pocket and tempt you to upgrade. Considering that most Android devices on the market use a Qualcomm chipset, I’m not surprised to see them releasing this SDK for Android first, with other platforms pending.
Let’s take a step back and actually figure out if you even need augmented reality. What joy do people get staring at a poster through a 3.5 inch screen just to see a funny animated GIF dance around or a notification popping up saying the restaurant across the street is offering their signature dishes for 20% off today? There’s Layar, the startup that got a lot of hype, but then no one really cared about since they realized how useless AR really is. They’ve signed a deal to be included on multiple handsets by default, but are people actually using the application for something other than showing off to their friends once, maybe twice, in a pub and then proudly pounding their chests declaring that they’re king of the mobile telecommunications revolution?
Bruce Sterling gave a talk at some conference less than a year ago saying that they’ll be plenty of people like me who will take a dump on AR, but that in the long run the benefits it’ll provide to humanity will far outweigh the early criticisms that ever new technology inevitably receives. I’ve got no doubt I too will change my mind, but for now … useless useless useless.