Augmented Reality–Can you dig it?

Augmented reality sounds like a mouthful, but in actuality, its pretty nifty. A sneaky and sparkling example of augmented reality is the new Yelp app for iPhones.

It’s sneaky because programmers were able to sneak an Easter egg–or hidden code–passed Apple’s app reviewers. (Augmented reality applications aren’t supposed to be available until at least the release of iPhone OS 3.1). The snazzy part is that it uses the phone’s GPS capabilities and camera to overlay an application on top of real images. See below.

Yelp's Augmented Reality

In Yelp’s case, their application overlays user ratings and comment on top of the reviewed business. For example, if I am walking down the street deciding where I should grab lunch, I can initiate the Easter Egg (called Monocle), point my camera at restaurants I pass, and ratings will show up on my phone.

Pretty snazy.

Most think that the options are endless for these type of augmented reality applications, and I tend to agree with them. However, developing useful apps is another situation altogether. How would you like to see augmented reality implemented? Would you use AR apps?