The “death of print” has been been predicted years since the potential of online read came to fore. Past forward to many years of tech progress, and we see newspapers, magazines and other print materials still the standard read in homes, offices, schools and some public places.
We don’t want to call it survival of the black and white letters, we see it as a habit that is so hard to take away from those who constantly seek knowledge.
Fact is, print has evolved to a better form, and even used the advancement in technology to further enhance its appeal and usability.
Okay, so technology has commoditized its contents, and in a subtle way tried to lure the people from the papers to the screen. Call me an old goat, but a lot will agree that there is no substitute to the calming smell of printed materials.
Print coupled with technology advancement, now that’s a better deal.
Now let us introduce to you a particular technology that is Augmented Reality (AR). AR is a way of amplifying actual/physical realities to enhance information – enhancement created through the provision of additional contexts and content such as audio, video, graphics or GPS data. As a result, the technology functions by enhancing one’s current perception of reality.
One good example of an AR app is ARWorld, the Philippine’s first public all-purpose AR browser downloadable on both iOS (soon) and Android devices for FREE.
Imagine this, you point your phone to an image – it can be a logo, a product, a picture, a scenery, a plant, an animal, your name or signature and then a video, audio or a 3D graphic will appear on your phone / tablet giving you additional and valuable information about your subject. Amazing right? That’s what ARWorld can do for you.
In education, imagine books with illustrations coming to life with ARWorld. Take for example a photo of our national hero Jose Rizal — use of ARWorld enabled devices will bring you to a history video of Rizal, or even a 3D image showing his martyrdom at Luneta.
During school field trips, imagine a student pointing his/her ARWorld enabled phone or tablet to a painting and the device will show a video containing information on who is behind the masterpiece, and other important details of it.
Business-wise, companies can use ARWorld for promotional messages, branding, contest mechanics, links to websites and social media pages. With ARWorld, customers who want to buy sealed products can now view what is inside the box, while details and specifications for products can also be made readily available through AR.
ARWorld can help car buyers/enthusiasts with 3D models of the vehicles which, believe it or not, they can even try to navigate, interact with and learn more than what were advertised. The same can be applied to phones, TV, home appliances, furnitures and more.
ARWorld also works in shirts, posters, standees, billboards, computer images and more. In other words, one’s imagination is the only boundary with ARWorld.
AR is a powerful tool to enhance education, business, entertainment, manufacturing and many more. The bottom line is, this collaboration between print and technology benefits a lot of people.
We highly recommend AR to students, especially the young generation who are torn between browsing through a screen or a good book for information.
Download ARWorld on Google Play for FREE and see the magic unfold before your very eyes. To learn more about ARWorld, visit www.arworldapp.com.
By Jerry Liao
