Augmented reality: a traveler’s dream?

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Gadling has previously investigated how mobile devices are changing the way we travel, whether it’s helping us navigate public transit, letting you make cheap phone calls abroad or showing us location-based maps of nearby restaurants, hotels and businesses. Now, an emerging mobile phone technology called augmented reality looks ready to bring this mobile experience to the “next level.”

It works like this: you start up an application on your phone using a built-in accelerometer, GPS and camera. As the application scans the world around you, it recognizes what you see, providing images, web links and information depending on where and what you’re looking at. Think of it almost like the real world was “clickable.” You could be walking down the street, pass by a restaurant, and have a link pop-up with a menu and weekly specials. Or in the case of augmented reality applications like acrossair on the iPhone (shown above) it can help you figure out the location of the nearest subway or metro stop. Other applications, like Wikitude and the Dutch service Layar let you browse directories of ATM’s, bars and hotels around you.

As with any cool new technology, there’s sometimes a catch. At this point, augmented reality apps like acrossair, Layar and Wikitude are only available to users abroad in Europe, although the companies are all promising a launch for U.S. users later this year. You’ll also need to have a supported phone – in this case either a device with Android or an iPhone 3GS to take advantage. Still, the coming of augmented reality offers a bright view of our travel future. Imagine taking a trip where we were free of our guidebooks, able to have information on transit, shopping, eating and sleeping at our fingertips when we wanted it and hidden from view when we didn’t. It’s a concept that is rapidly approaching reality, though still working out some kinks – don’t throw out that map just yet.

The most accurate world map available as a free download

by Sean McLachlan on

Finally, our tax dollars going to something cool.

The folks at Caltech’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, along with NASA and the Japanese government, have come together to make the world’s most accurate topo map. And it’s available for free!

The ASTER project, which stands for Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (say that ten times fast) is a minutely detailed look at the Earth using an instrument aboard Terra, a satellite that’s part of the Earth Observing System, EOS for short. It examines the differences in elevation, heat, and reflectivity on the Earth’s surface in order to study everything from forest cover to ice floes. This helps scientists understand and predict changes in the hugely complex system that is our little ball of clay.

One byproduct is the topo map, along with an amazing gallery of images of our world from above. These can be seen on their website.

You can download the maps for free from NASA’s EOS Digital Archive, where you’ll see a list of several ASTER products. Some cost, but some are free, such as the elevation model shown here.

Could Twitter and technology make you a target for criminals when you travel?

by Jamie Rhein on

Canceling mail service, stopping the newspaper, and putting house lights on timers are ways to make it look to a potential burglars as if you’re still home.

Twitter, though, could undo all your careful planning if you agree with Israel Hyman that his Tweets about his travels tipped off a burglar that he was long gone. When Hyman returned home after his vacation, he discovered valuable electronic equipment was missing. His wife thinks it was most probably a random, coincidental act. Hyman leans towards with his theory.

After reading the CNET News article that recounts Hyman’s story and tells about how technology and cyberspace are interacting in a way that makes us more vulnerable to people taking advantage of us when we travel, I’m not so sorry that I have simple little cell phone and that I haven’t hopped on the high tech gadgetry bandwagon.

The details about how Mathew Honan was able to track down a woman he saw taking a photo at the Golden Gate Bridge using her iPhone 3G is a bit alarming. He wrote about how he did traced her on Flickr and Facebook in this article in WIRED. Honan isn’t a creep, just someone checking out the power of the equipment and a person with sleuthing know how.

Still, even with the technology that might tip off strangers to ones whereabouts, stopping the mail, the paper, and hooking up the timer makes sense. Being careful about what you Twitter couldn’t hurt either. On the other hand, why be paranoid?

I was broken into when I was gone on vacation and I’m convinced it was a guy who was a friend of the friend of mine taking care of my apartment. He knew where the key was. Maybe Hyman should think about who he knows who knew he was out of town.

Museum Junkie: London’s Science Museum turns 100

by Sean McLachlan on

London’s Science Museum turns 100 this year, and as part of the centeniary celebrations they’re asking for your input on the world’s most important invention.

Their list comes from ten important inventions they have in their museum, like the first x-ray machine developed in 1895, or the Model T Ford that first came off the production line in 1908, or the V2 rocket pictured here, first launched against London by the Nazis in 1944.

Personally. I’d vote for something the techies at the museum didn’t think of–agriculture. Yeah, that was a while ago, but agriculture provided a surplus that allowed some people to do things other than gather food, such as invent all this other stuff. No agriculture, no complex civilization, no technology, and no Gadling. Now there’s a scary thought.

The Science Museum has a massive collection of machines, devices, and widgets for every conceivable purpose. There are a lot of interactive displays, including a mockup of a Japanese supermarket where you can experience an earthquake. It’s one of the best places to take kids in London, along with the Natural History Museum with its weird deep sea fish and animatronic T-Rex. If you want to waste some time at work, take their “What dinosaur are you?” quiz. Apparantly I’m a Baryonyx.

With all this talk about inventions, what about travel? What are the most important inventions for people on the road? The backpack? The airplane? The Internet? Passports? What’s your vote for the most important invention for travelers?

Gadling gets an exclusive look at Virgin America’s cockpit technology

by Kent Wien on

While there have been many reports and videos highlighting the inflight entertainment provided by Virgin America, Gadling thought it would be interesting to find out what kind of technology was available to the pilots and flight attendants at Virgin America.

Take a look as pilots Gabe and Eddie and flight attendant Rebecca give Gadling a look at some of the gadgets available to them on board their A319.