Argon, the augmented reality web browser

Blair MacIntyre and his Augmented Environments Lab developed Argon to move the Web into the world. It does so by taking video from the phone's camera and rendering graphical content on top of the video to provide users with an experience that merges space with cyberspace. Credit: Rob Felt/Georgia Tech

You’re in a bookstore checking out the bestsellers. You scan the book with your iPhone camera and without warning see information floating in the air, provided by the store’s information channel. You add your own book club channel to the view, overlaying additional reviews from friends and other relevant information from shopping sites on the Web.

No, this isn't you in 20 years --- it's a scenario possible in the very nearly future thanks to a new research designed to bring the Web off your hand-held device and into the real world. Developers hope to port Argon to other platforms, just as Android, soon.

"Alcatel-Lucent is actively involved in supporting open standards across mobile and fixed devices to enable consumers and business users to enjoy rich communication anywhere, anytime and over any device. Our participation as a project sponsor in Georgia Tech's development of the world’s first open standards-based mobile augmented reality browser is an example of that," said Marc Goodman, director of Alcatel-Lucent's University Innovations Program.

What makes Argon different from standard mobile Internet browsers is its ability to put content out into the world. Argon takes video from the phone’s camera and renders graphical content on top of it. With this initial release, any content that can be displayed in the iPhone’s Mobile Safari Web browser can be pushed out into the world on virtual billboards. Other content can be created using forms and Javascript. Future releases will as well include support for a range of 3D content.

For example, or rather than just displaying the locations of businesses or other nearby places, you can customize the content delivery as you desire. When you use the browser to view the channel for a theater, the channel might display the movie times, allow you to view previews of the films, or create in-browser games and interactive experiences tied to the movies you choose. Those games might be collaborative with other nearby viewers, or with people at another theater across town or across the country. The possibilities are endless.

The University of Idaho today unveiled the new home for an IQ Station, state-of-the-art research that allows faculty, student and staff researchers to see images in 3-D.