Augmented Reality on Handheld Platforms

I have a lot of research done on designing for mobile platforms, and I've also taken a look at Augmented Reality and Context Awareness on these platforms.

'Mobile Augmented Reality' by Tobias H. Holler and Steven K. Feiner discusses Mobile Augmented Reality Systems (MARS) and how it can be implemented in many aspects of life. I will be taking the general overview and how they see it MARS influencing the tourism industry.

World becomes a user interface.

What is AR? A layer of information over any environment. It is able to integrate virtual information into a persons physical space and perceive that information exists in the surroundings. It aims to supplement the real world by aligning virtual objects/information with real ones.

Device - MARS Components Needed:

• Computational platform - generate and manage the virtual material to be layered on top of the physical environment, to process the tracker information and AR display.
• Display
• Registration - tracking position and orientation
• Input & Interaction Technology
• Wireless Network

Computing Platform Factors: computing power, form factor, ruggedness, power consumption, graphics, multimedia capabilities, memory and storage space, upgrade ability, operating system and software, development environments, technical support, price.

Usability: The user should not have to concentrate on how to work a particular computing interface, especially as they will be busy focusing on real world tasks. 
Properties of MARS User Interfaces: 

• User Control
• Consistency
• Need for embedded semantic information
• Scene Dynamic

In tourism AR can be used to find destinations and display background information such as 3D modals of related art/architecture.