Seer Android may be less immediately dramatic than some of the early upsets at Wimbledon, like the second-round ousting of Maria Sharapova and the tigerish victory by Lleyton Hewitt. It hasn't attracted pranksters with decibel meters to measure which of the female players indulges in the loudest orgasmic screaming when they hit the ball. It is extremely localised since it works only at Wimbledon.
What it has done, however, is further demonstrate how much of the remarkable potential of mobiles can be unlocked when different types of app technology and interests meet in a symbiotic relationship. Location-based sports information is just one of numerous subjects that can gain from the AR treatment.
Seer Android shows who, what, where
The IBM app runs only on Android phones. Its usability is limited to the hallowed precincts of the Wimbledon grounds. It is within these constraints that it works its charm.
It employs the currently standard method of simultaneously scanning the environment with the smartphone's camera and projecting LBS data onto the viewfinder. It correlates the user's location with the viewed target's location by doing fancy tricks with the phone's built-in GPS and compass.
IBM geotagged Wimbledon for this year's tournament. When you point the phone camera at any of the courts, up pops the fixtures schedule for that court. You can see who's playing right now on any court. (The phone won't tell you which of them is screaming. You need analogue technology - namely, your ears - to know that.)
Scanning around with the phone will also show pop-up information about other points of interest such as concession stands where you can buy strawberries and cream. Or a steak-and-kidney pie, perhaps, if you need real food.
It's that simple. Correction: it's comparatively that simple, bearing in mind that a smartphone and all its miniaturised hardware and state-of-the-art apps use vastly more computing power than the mainframes that put the first men on the moon and ran the entire North American Aerospace Defence Command, NORAD, during the Cold War.
Current state of location-based sports services
Seer Android's main information "partners" are geotagging and a feed of match info from the tournament organisers. Other apps and hardware can deliver different types of location-based sports information within the larger realm of LBS.
Nokia's Sports Tracker, for example, offers a much more personalised sports function. You use it to trace your route and track your stats as you exercise by walking, jogging or cycling. If you want to you can stream your workout live to the Sports Tracker website. Using the Location Tagger at the same time lets you geotag photos you take during your outing. Sports Tracker can even embed this material on Google Maps.
On the hardware side, devices like the tiny Bluetooth GPS module from Brando will geotag your photos too. Used in conjunction with the appropriate software, it will record and analyse your regular workouts in running, skiing, climbing and other outdoor activities.
The state of AR
Tonchidot, a Japanese start-up, really got the ball rolling last year with its mobile social tagging app, Sekai Camera. It would use the iPhone viewer camera to overlay tags and information onto views of the real world. It would include filters to show only the tags that might interest the viewer, and it could tag where any of your friends were in the vicinity.
Layar then set the pace with its "augmented reality browser" that turns the camera viewer on Android-powered phones into an information portal and search engine. It overlays information on top of the camera view, just as IBM's app does, to display information about physical objects you're looking at.
Layar immediately evoked speculation about the commercial possibilities of augmented mobile reality. A real estate agent might geotag properties for sale in an area; prospective buyers would be able to drive past houses, aim the phone camera at them, and see which were for sale and at what price. Likewise, geotagging could be used to show pop-up info about banking facilities, restaurants, transport services, hotels... anything that might be suitable for location-based mobile advertising, in fact.
- To see just how effectively AR can enhance the geoweb, watch the Layar demo video.
Future merging of AR and sport
The opportunities for advertising and couponing with geotagging and augmented reality may be obvious, but what about sport in particular? This question is worth asking because it does raise one of the present limitations of geotagging.
There is plenty that could be done right now on the lines of IBM's geotagging at Wimbledon. Suitable locations abound.
At motor racing circuits users could view the tagged info to see the average speeds through corners, what tyres were being warmed up in the pits, and where the nearest pub or first-aid facilities might be. Golf courses that host big tournaments just beg to be geotagged.
The limitation in sports geotagging is that you can apply it to places but not to people. Even this should not present any insurmountable problems. For instance, if you could fit a tiny device to a player's helmet or fix it to his shirt, you might be able to aim your phone camera at a sportsman and up would pop the data about his current condition, recent injuries and performance stats. An inventive sponsor might even add a tag about his favourite soft drink or what car he drives.
- How is the geoweb likely to develop and provide tangible value? Tony Jebara, chief scientist and co-founder, Sense Network, will be speaking on this topic at the Metaplaces 09 Conference.
