Although 3D film and TV stole the limelight, Augmented Reality (AR) has also been making some leaps in the past year. With technical requirements lowered to a consumer level for both home and mobile devices, we can finally put it to work. So what is it augmented reality can add to the current mediascape?

AR is simply the addition of a digital layer to reality by means of a screen and camera. This layer can contain anything from text to (animated) clips. A well known examples is the overhead display seen in the Terminator movies. Much of what we see there is now possible with just a smartphone or a standard webcam and is thus in reach of most children in the Western world. Judging from some clever productions, the boys at marketing already seem to have noticed.

So how can you make Augmented Reality applications to be really interesting for children and not just a standalone trick that will bore them within a couple of minutes? How do you use it to enhance storytelling?

Three experts bring you up to speed on these exciting new possibilities.

Yolande Kolstee runs the AR-Lab since 2006. She lectured in and outside The Netherlands, from Maastricht (I-Fabriek) to Harvard USA (School of Design) and from Amsterdam (Beam lab, Discovery, Picnic) to Glasgow (British Computer Society). She will start her research project AR-VIP : Visualisation, Interaction and Perception this autumn.

Fred Ellman

Having developed new concepts in technology and gaming with Lernell Company for over 30 years, Fred Ellman is a designer of internationally successful toy products. His experience designing interactive exhibits and products for children have put him at the intersection of stories and interactive play.

James Alliban is an Augmented Reality specialist and interactive artist from London, UK. He currently works at the award winning London based agency Skive where he conceptualises and builds AR applications and games. His experiments in AR have developed a great deal of interest in the last year, leading to the founding of his company Augmatic.