printf: When was your first contact with AR? How did this become your research field?

Bruce: My first contact was working with a Defence lab in Adelaide. They lent us one of first wearable computers with a see-through display. We starting making navigation applications in 1998.

printf: Please explain what Augmented Reality is and what's the difference between AR and Virtual Reality.

Bruce: Augmented reality is the ability to view the physical world and a virtual world at the same time. The virtual world is registered to the physical world. This allows the virtual information to be viewed in context with the physical surroundings. In virtual reality, the user is cut off from the physical world.

printf: Recently what are the principal applications to Augmented Reality?

Augmented Reality System

Bruce: The principal applications are Marketing and Location Based Information.

The marketing approach puts a black and white fiducal marker on a product or in a magazine to have some form of "popup" ad.

The Location Based Information provides point sources of data, such the location of subway stations. This is first person perspective GPS navigation guide.