豆知识 2010-09-19&09-25 透过手机看世界

 I think we can all agree that reality is pretty great. It’s what we experience through our senses, like our eyes, and phones with cameras. The Internet is awesome¹ too, but the internet and reality have a hard time working together. Thankfully this is changing quickly. New tools mean that the world around you can now be seen with a layer of new information from the Internet.

 

 

 

This is Augmented² Reality - Explained by Common Craft³.

 

 

 

If you've ever seen a movie with a fighter pilot, you've seen the pilot’s view from the cockpit – but something is missing⁴.

 

 

 

The pilot needs a layer of information that adds useful items to his view of reality. Recently, this kind of layer started working on your smartphone. But instead of flight data, you have data about the world around you. It’s augmented reality.

 

 

 

Let’s say you're hungry and at a busy intersection⁵. There are multiple⁶ restaurants around you, but you don't have a good way to make the decision. Now, thanks to new software on mobile⁷ phones, you can simply point your phone's camera at buildings around you and voila!

 

 

 

Restaurants are magically recognized and a layer of information about the restaurant appears on the screen. 

 

 

 

Another example is shopping. You can point your camera at a product and see a layer of information about it, like prices of the same product at other stores in the area or on the Internet. 

 

 

 

And this functionality only requires a few things. First, a smartphone with a camera to capture⁸ reality. Second, a connection to the Internet for receiving the layer of information. Third, software on your phone to bring it all together. It also helps to have a phone with GPS and a compass to help establish a location.

 

 

 

Augmented reality can also work with a camera attached to your computer. You can hold products in front of the camera and see a layer of information on your screen that makes reality more interesting and even fun.

 

 

 

These examples are just the beginning. In the future, you may wear glasses that have a tiny display that you can see while walking. As you walk by stores, buildings, people and products, this screen displays information from sites like Wikipedia or Google. Suddenly your reality is richer and more interesting.

 

 

 

It's coming, but augmented reality has a long way to go. Keep your eye out for ways that augmented reality adds layers of new information to your reality.

1 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

2 Augmented   

adj.增音的 动词augment的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• 'scientists won't be replaced," he claims, "but they will be augmented." 他宣称：“科学家不会被取代；相反，他们会被拓展。” 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• The impact of the report was augmented by its timing. 由于发表的时间选得好，这篇报导的影响更大了。

3 craft   

n.工艺，手艺；小船，飞机；行业；诡计

参考例句：

• The harbour was full of pleasure craft.港口满是游艇。
• He's a master of his craft.他有一手好手艺。

4 missing   

adj.遗失的，缺少的，失踪的

参考例句：

• Check the tools and see if anything is missing.检点一下工具，看有无丢失。
• All the others are here;he's the only one missing.别人都来了，就短他一个。

5 intersection   

n.交集，十字路口，交叉点；[计算机] 交集

参考例句：

• There is a stop sign at an intersection.在交叉路口处有停车标志。
• Bridges are used to avoid the intersection of a railway and a highway.桥用来避免铁路和公路直接交叉。

6 multiple   

adj.多个(或多项、多种)的；n.（数）倍数

参考例句：

• The number 8 is a multiple of 4.八是四的倍数。
• The most common multiple births are twins,two babies born at the same time.最常见的多胎是双胞胎，两个婴儿同时出生。

7 mobile   

adj.可移动的，易变的，机动的；n.运动物体

参考例句：

• The old lady sits on a mobile chair every morning.那位老妇人每天上午坐在一把可携带使用的椅子上。
• She's much more mobile now that she's bought a car.自从她买了汽车后，活动量就大多了。

8 capture   

vt.捕获，俘获；占领，夺得；n.抓住，捕获

参考例句：

• The company is out to capture the European market.这家公司希望占据欧洲市场。
• With the capture of the escaped tiger,everyone felt relieved.逃出来的老虎被捕获后，大家都松了一口气。