Archinect - News

Autodesk launches VR tool for reviewing BIM models with Workshop XR

2023-11-16T19:24:00-05:00

Autodesk has unveiled a virtual reality tool described as an “immersive design review experience for the AEC industry.” Named Autodesk Workshop XR, the tool offers multiple users the ability to explore design models in real-time using Meta virtual headsets, including abilities to flag and update issue items.

“Workshop XR will transform how architects and building engineers plan and review projects,” said Nicolas Fonta, Senior Director & General Manager, XR at Autodesk, in a statement. “Most building projects that go over budget do so because issues are discovered once construction has begun. We’ve heard many customers share the challenges of reviewing designs across dispersed teams.”

Image credit: Autodesk

In the Workshop XR environment, multiple users will be able to track issues, catch errors, and explore working BIM models linked to the Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC). “With automatically connected data from ACC, no-prep model loading, and synced issue tracking, Workshop XR make...

LACMA and Snapchat unveil third Monumental Perspectives AR collection across Los Angeles

2023-09-09T08:00:00-04:00

The third collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)’s ongoing Augmented Reality Monumental Perspectives series has been unveiled to the public, featuring works of five artists that offer insights into the histories of their own unique pockets of LA’s patchwork mosaic of communities.

The series’ final trove includes Victoria Fu, Yassi Mazandi, Rashaad Newsome, Rubén Ortiz Torres, and Alison Saar. Each is accessible through Snapchat’s Lens Explorer tab. The initiative is being funded as part of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s larger $250 million The Monuments Project project. LACMA President Michael Govan says each work “challenges us to examine the individual and communal legacies we are leaving today and how we are shaping the future of Los Angeles.”

Rubén Ortiz Torres, Dead Heads (2023). Image courtesy Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Yassi Mazandi, The Thirty Birds (2023). Image courtesy Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Fu will offer a virtual take on a subject,...

Archinect's Lexicon: "Spatial Computing"

2023-06-23T11:31:00-04:00

Archinect's Lexicon focuses on newly invented (or adopted) vocabulary within the architectural community. For this installment, we're featuring a term that recently found prominence with the unveiling of the new Apple Vision Pro device.

"Spatial computing" represents a fusion of diverse digital technologies that engage with physical spaces and their human inhabitants. This complex discipline involves merging real and virtual worlds, where digital systems and software function within three dimensions. It combines various technologies such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, and artificial intelligence (AI).

A significant example of spatial computing in action is Apple's newly-released Vision Pro spatial computer. This cutting-edge device allows users to interact with digital objects and information in their surrounding physical environment, thereby blurring the line between the physical and digital worlds. The term is also interlinked ...

Apple unveils its ‘first spatial computer’ with Vision Pro

2023-06-07T12:24:00-04:00

Apple has publicly unveiled the Apple Vision Pro, which the company describes as a “revolutionary spatial computer that seamlessly blends digital content with the physical world.” The device is set to be available for purchase in the U.S. early in 2024, with a starting price of $3,499.

Image credit: Apple

A series of demonstration videos released by Apple show users navigating through a three-dimensional interface using eyes, hands, and voice, with the Vision Pro’s “infinite canvas of apps” populating their surrounding environment. The headset device is powered by visionOS, which Apple describes as “the world’s first spatial operating system,” allowing users to “interact with digital content in a way that feels like it is physically present in their space.”

Image credit: Apple

Product specs detailed by Apple include a high-resolution display system containing 23 million pixels across two displays, encased within an aluminum alloy frame. The device integrates 12 cameras, including Appl...

Princeton and IE University team to build vaulted brick pavilion using AI and augmented reality

2023-05-04T10:57:00-04:00

A team from Princeton University and the IE School of Architecture and Design are constructing a vaulted pavilion with the aid of artificial intelligence, holograms, and augmented reality at IE University’s campus in Segovia, Spain. The team, comprised of architects, engineers, craftspeople, and IE students, is led by Syrian-Spanish architect and IE architecture professor Wesam Al Asali along with Sigrid Adriaenssens, director of the Form Finding Lab at Princeton University.

The open-air vaulted pavilion will adopt a 10-foot-tall tripod structure without the need for formwork and will measure 16 feet long and 10 feet wide. To construct the pavilion, an initial layer of industrial hollow bricks will be laid, clad with tiles. Augmented reality glasses and Microsoft’s HoloLens app will then be employed in the bricklaying process, allowing builders to follow holographic guides to know the exact placement of bricks.

Image courtesy of IE University

“AR technology allows the craftsman to wo...

Company that projects life-size plans for client walkthroughs is coming to the U.S.

2022-10-06T11:20:00-04:00

A company that projects architectural plans at a 1:1 scale is planning to expand its operations to the United States. Lifesize Plans, headquartered in Australia, describes itself as "the world’s first patented projection system allowing clients to walkthrough their building project in life-size before construction begins."

The company was founded in 2017 by Chris Ghaleb, whose early days included an appearance on the television show Shark Tank. In their large showrooms across Australia, Lifesize allows any project to be projected at a 1:1 scale, while also providing real furniture, household items, partition walls, and decorations to offer clients a deeper understanding of their proposed scheme’s spatial qualities.

Image: Lifesize Plans / Instagram

"With the use of state of the art technology and tailored programs we are able to show your complete dwelling – including upper and lower floors, backyards, swimming pools and entertaining areas, along with driveways and parking spaces to...

Three triangle-shaped buildings 'transformed' into tortilla chips as part of new Doritos marketing campaign

2022-08-29T13:29:00-04:00

Apparently, Doritos are everywhere. What you thought was Bjarke Ingels Group’s VIA 57 West is actually a cheesy tortilla chip.

Through a new marketing campaign by Frito-Lay North America titled Triangle Tracker, people can currently utilize Snapchat’s augmented reality software to seek, scan, and convert triangular shapes anywhere, including buildings, into Doritos for the chance to win money and other prizes. The company launched the program by illuminating three triangular-shaped structures in bright orange. Along with the aforementioned BIG building in Manhattan, the upside-down triangle shape at the top of Atlanta’s 101 Marietta Street skyscraper and the Memphis Pyramid were converted into gargantuan chips.

To participate, users need to point their Snapchat AR lens at any triangle in their environment or use TikTok to engage in weekly challenges.

Foster + Partners-designed Brompton Road Apple store debuts the tech giant's new focus on AR

2022-07-27T14:13:00-04:00

Foster + Partners’ design for the Brompton Road Apple store in London is ready for its debut tomorrow, showcasing the company’s renewed focus on AR and other consumer technologies in what is the latest in a long string of retail commissions between the British architect and the California tech giant.

Image courtesy Apple, Inc.

The design reuses a former arcade structure from 1903 in a way that invokes the form and function of the typology’s original role as an enclosed shopping district and social condenser. The store comes equipped with a suite of naturalistic elements, including a group of 12 welcoming Sicilian ficus trees, in addition to new bio-resin terrazzo wood floors, which intend to reflect the goals outlined by the company’s new green design mandates.

Image courtesy Apple, Inc.

As such, the store aims to run 100% on renewable energies. The new location also features Castagna stone finishings, depth-enhancing mirrors in the Forum area, and plent...

Herzog & de Meuron's exploration of the SongEun Art Space showcased possibilities of augmented reality technology

2022-03-18T14:31:00-04:00

Seoul’s latest cultural mainstay was a recent subject of an introspective investigation with help from its creator Herzog & de Meuron.

The Swiss firm returned to its debut Korean design with an augmented reality exhibition titled Exploring SongEun Art Space that uses physical and digital models, drawings, sections, and printed images to give visitors a real insider's perspective on the creation and inner workings of the new 11-story museum.

Previously on Archinect: Seoul's newest art space opens in a triangular concrete shape from Herzog & de Meuron

With help from Swiss VR/AR specialists Bandara, the installation delved into the new building in an extraordinary high-tech way, displaying documentation that explored the design and construction process from the initial conception in Basel to the physical realization last September in Seoul's Gangnam district. It consisted of seven augmented reality stations, where different images in the room triggered videos, models, and other media f...

MVRDV's new Flores Tower is a top-to-bottom exhibition of flower power

2022-03-14T13:25:00-04:00

The colorful new centerpiece of the 2022 Floriade horticultural exhibition is now set to debut after MVRDV announced the completion of its 43.5-meter (142-foot) Flores Tower in the Dutch city of Almere.

The vibrant structure comes complete with a custom-made, AR-enabled panoramic facade artwork titled Sympoiesis from Rotterdam-based Arttenders and the Flemish artist Alex Verhaest.

Image © MVRDV x Arttenders x Alex Verhaest, © 3D Capacity

Taking the surrounding MVRDV-designed arboretum as its inspiration, the glass-paneled facade is activated by a digital scripting technique that projects a layered composition with images of 1,800 different floral species taken from various databases and university libraries.

Image © MVRDV x Arttenders x Alex Verhaest, © 3D Capacity

The illustration covers the full catalog of plants and flowers available to visitors of the expo with an interpretive key located in the building’s plinth that offers itself as a proportionate wayfinding guide indicating th...

Balfour Beatty uses augmented reality eyeglasses on construction sites

2020-10-12T14:19:00-04:00

The company recently purchased three pairs of Vuzix Blade smart AR glasses that have a built-in camera that provides a view of jobsite walkthroughs or inspections, a boon during a time when travel restrictions can keep stakeholders away from a project. The smart glasses connect to hot spots on tablets or smartphones.

According to Construction Dive, Balfour Beatty US is using augmented reality (AR) eyeglasses on jobsites for safety and other inspections, meetings with clients and to work with drones. Cameron Wahl, the senior technology specialist with the company, has already seen "immediate benefits on RFIs and inspections" on Texas jobsites.

German universities develop "virtual meeting room" where users can meet with colleagues as avatars

2020-07-27T15:58:00-04:00

Developed by visualization experts from six universities in Baden-Württemberg with members of the Visualization Department of the High-Performance Computing Center Stuttgart (HLRS), a new project entitled "Virtual Collaboration Laboratories Baden-Württemberg" (KoLab) allows users in different locations to meet and collaborate in a virtual settings.

AR and VR collaborative environments aren't new in the design and construction industry, but often, users need to be in the same location to participate, usually viewing a localized model in a central location. According to Tech Xplore, "meeting participants are represented by avatars that can communicate in virtual reality, where they can collaboratively observe, analyze, and interact with 3-D visualizations — all from their workplaces or even home offices."

NC State University Associate Professor Derek Ham Appointed Department Head of Art + Design

2020-06-25T13:42:00-04:00

Associate Professor Derek Ham, Ph.D. has been appointed as the department head of Art + Design at the North Carolina State University College of Design. Ham has taught at the College of Design since June 2015 and was recently promoted from assistant professor.

"I am thrilled to announce that Derek Ham has been chosen as our next Art + Design Department Head," said Mark Hoversten, dean of the college in a statement. "Derek’s background and approach to multi- and inter-disciplinary work makes him a strong candidate in an already competitive candidate pool. I am excited to see the direction he brings to the Art + Design program moving forward."

Ham also serves as the principal investigator for MC Reality Lab, a multidisciplinary practice that works in the virtual, augmented, and mixed reality technology space. Ham holds a Ph.D. in design computation from MIT, an M.Arch from Harvard GSD, and a B.Arch from Hampton University. He will begin his new position on July 1, 2020.

Olafur Eliasson wants to bring nature into quarantined homes with his new AR art app WUNDERKAMMER

2020-05-14T18:50:00-04:00

Genre-spanning artist Olafur Eliasson just released WUNDERKAMMER, his latest augmented reality experience in collaboration with the Acute Art app.

"Now we are spending a lot of time indoors, so I thought, okay, let's make a work of art which takes the outside inside," Eliasson explains in a short video released alongside the WUNDERKAMMER app.

Video courtesy of Olafur Eliasson/Acute Art.

"Even though we can't go as much out as we want to, it's so important to kind of not forget that, once all of this is over, we have to look at our environment, we have to look at what is going on with regards to the things we care about so much."

Image courtesy of Olafur Eliasson/Acute Art.

The Acute Art app is available both on the App Store and on Google Play.

The Berlin Wall made discoverable again via AR, 30 years after its fall

2019-08-27T17:36:00-04:00

The installation is part of a week-long festival running from 4-10 November for the 30th anniversary. It aims to “celebrate the successes of the revolution and to recall the joy at regained freedoms and the risks and pains of social upheaval,” according to a statement from the organisers, Kulturprojekte Berlin.

As the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall approaches this November, various art projects prepare to commemorate the events of the peaceful 1989 revolution throughout the city.

Via large-scale interactive installations, 3D video projections, and an augmented reality app, artists seek to give back relevance and historic significance to places that can easily be overlooked and forgotten.

An AR version of the old Berlin Wall "death strip" fortification overlaid on a Berlin sidewalk via the MauAR app. Image via mauar.berlin.

Microsoft plans to preserve cultural heritage sites through AI

2019-07-17T13:17:00-04:00

The plan is the fourth pillar in a five-year philanthropic effort dubbed AI for Good, which already includes previously announced target areas centered on the earth, humanitarian action and accessibility. The $10m cultural heritage initiative will focus on finding ways to celebrate people, language, places and historic artifacts,

Microsoft, a leader in the tech industry, has initiated a new extension to their $125M AI for Good program. The company aims to use artificial intelligence as a way to preserve cultural heritage. According to an announcement made by Microsoft President Brad Smith, "We want technology to advance, but we all want, and should want, to preserve timeless values around the world." Microsoft has teamed up with two French companies, HoloForge Interactive and Iconem.

Both specializing in 3D digital renderings to help recreate photo-realistic models of historic cultural sites, this new collaboration is exploring interactive experiences with 3D model making.

HoloForge Interactive used these 3D renderings to travel back in time by using the HoloLens augmented reality headset. Image courtesy of Microsoft

By preserving these sites, new opportunities for cultural exchange and interaction grow. Iconem's co-founder Yves Ubelmann shares, "3D digital models will allow people to travel not only throug...

The 'Stonewall Forever' augmented reality monument celebrates 50 years of LGBTQ Pride history

2019-06-05T17:31:00-04:00

The Stonewall Riots in June 1969 set forth the fight for LGBTQ rights that continues today. To honor the last five decades of its lasting impact, the LGBT Community Center of NYC teamed up with the National Park Service, with support from Google, to create an interactive, augmented reality monument called “Stonewall Forever”, which commemorates the 50th anniversary of Stonewall and aims to preserve LGBTQ history and amplify voices from the community.

"We hope that this effort lifts up a broad array of voices and creates a connection to Stonewall's legacy for people everywhere,” the Stonewall Forever website states.

The rainbow “living monument” lets users scroll through scores of videos, a documentary film, historic photos, audio, and text that tell the ever-growing, multi-faceted story of the LGBTQ community. Also, anyone anywhere can add their own images and text to the monument.

In 2017, Google.org — the tech giant's philanthropic arm — granted $1 million to the LGBT Community Ce...

This mixed-reality hard hat connects with Microsoft's new HoloLens 2

2019-03-04T16:12:00-05:00

Microsoft will allow businesses to customize HoloLens 2 before purchasing a fleet of headsets. Trimble, the owner of 3D modeling package SketchUp, has already modified the headset so that it can be worn like a hard hat in construction sites and other potentially dangerous locations. The rebranded version will be called Trimble XR10 and is set to launch alongside the regular HoloLens 2 later this year.

One of the first 'working-in-the-field' customizations of Microsoft's newly unveiled HoloLens 2 mixed-reality headset is a hard hat by Trimble for construction workers that pulls up holographic CAD data on the worksite.

Image: Trimble/Microsoft

"It will have all of the same specs, performance, and functionality as the new HoloLens, including improved sensors and processors, a significantly larger field-of-view, 10-finger gestures, eye-tracking, a flip-up viewscreen, and more," promises the manufacturer's description.

The hard hat headset connects with Trimble's suite of spatial computing software and will be available later this year for a slick $4,750 a piece.

How VR may be the bridge firms and educators need to share architecture

2019-02-08T10:37:00-05:00

Thanks to Hugo Gernsback and his influence on science fiction and technology, his 1963 TV Glasses invention was a stepping stone for the evolution of virtual reality. Fast forward 50 years and VR is now an accessible and viable option for almost everyone, especially architects and designers.

According to the AIA's 2018 firm survey, The Business of Architecture, it has been recorded that 67 percent of large firms are utilizing VR technology within their practice. With relatively affordable VR options like the Oculus Rift, Google Daydream, and Samsung Gear, almost anyone can purchase the technology to integrate virtual reality into their design process. However, with its apparent accessibility, has VR become a critical factor in successfully communicating architectural ideas to groups like clients and students? Only so much can be seen in drawings and renderings. Architecture must also be felt to be understood, and perhaps leaping into virtual reality is a viable step.

Samsung’s Mobi...

Serpentine Galleries, Google, and David Adjaye launch augmented-reality architecture competition

2019-02-06T20:28:00-05:00

Serpentine Galleries teamed up with Google Arts & Culture and architect David Adjaye to launch the “Serpentine Augmented Architecture” competition, which is currently accepting proposals for an augmented-reality installation that will be developed and experienced on-site at the Serpentine Galleries — and located next to the 2019 Serpentine Pavilion — this summer.

The competition is seeking speculative proposals and imaginary city spaces that explore the role and utility of AR in public-space design: How can augmented reality rethink spatiality? How can AR be used to develop new ideas about the way our cities are designed?

The international call is open to architects, designers, games developers, artists, and the like, at any stage of their career. Individuals, teams, and studios can submit. The submission deadline is February 25, 2019 at 10 a.m. GMT.

Give it your best shot, as the winning commission will be selected by an esteemed jury that includes: David Adjaye, Architect and Tru...

As augmented reality further permeates the urban environment, do architects play a role in planning virtual spaces?

2018-10-03T17:59:00-04:00

Over the past couple of decades, artists and designers have developed augmented realities that propose vastly different, and often more radical perspectives of what a digitally enhanced public realm could look like. [...] many actually existing AR projects instead ask critical questions about the implementation of this novel technology and its potential to shift both the everyday experiences and political economies of architecture and cities.

In his latest Failed Architecture piece, Joshua McWhirter offers an insightful history of noteworthy augmented reality-powered works of art, activism, game design, and simulation while also issuing a warning call about the impending privatization and commodification of the virtual public space without much input from architects. "And as this landscape increasingly constitutes a public realm in and of itself," McWhirter writes, "a collection of hybrid real-virtual public spaces, there are even glimmers of direct challenges to its creeping privatization."

An augmented reality art exhibit hijacks MoMA's Jackson Pollock gallery

2018-04-27T14:57:00-04:00

NEW YORK’S MUSEUM of Modern Art is under siege. Well, a virtual siege, at least. A group of renegade artists has co-opted the brightly-lit Jackson Pollock gallery on the museum’s fifth floor, turning it into their personal augmented reality playground. [...] those that have downloaded the MoMAR Gallery app on their smartphones, the impressionist's iconic paintings are merely markers—points of reference telling the app where to display the guerilla artists’ works.

MoMAR's augmented reality app and the unauthorized accompanying group show Hello, we're from the internet explore the intersection of private physical space and the public digital realm. "MoMAR is an unauthorized gallery concept aimed at democratizing physical exhibition spaces, museums, and the curation of art within them," the group explains on its website. "MoMAR is non-profit, non-owned, and exists in the absence of any privatized structures."

Get the app on Android or iOS and head to MoMA's Jackson Pollock room on the 5th floor to see Hello, we're from the internet until May 3.

Hong Kong issues AR stamps to promote historic building revitalization

2018-03-23T20:38:00-04:00

The Hongkong Post issued a set of six augmented reality stamps called “Revitalization of Historic Buildings in Hong Kong II” showcasing six historic building revitalization projects. These special stamps are part of an effort to enhance public understanding and appreciation of the built heritage in Hong Kong.

Hover over these stamps with a smartphone using the HKPostStamps app and a virtual model of the historic building will pop up for you to explore. Each rendering includes interactive hotspots that bring up information including opening hours and links to visit the building in person.

Check out how they work:

The six historic buildings featured in these stamps are:

Viva Blue House, located in Wanchai, is composed of the Blue House, Yellow House, Orange House and adjacent vacant land
Oi!, the former clubhouse of the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club
Green Hub, located in Tai Po, is the Old Tai Po Police Station
Stone Houses Family Garden, which was originally part of the Hau Wong Temp...

Bringing Augmented Reality for architects to the small screen: Morpholio launches Trace app for iPhone

2018-02-07T18:24:00-05:00

If you've already liked or used Morpholio's popular Trace app on the iPad Pro, you can now also get excited to put it to work on your small screen: TracePro just launched for iPhone and presents a powerful architectural application of Apple's ARKit augmented reality framework in a pocket-friendly format.

AR drawing

The app positions itself as a helpful tool in the field where critical design decisions have to be made consistently — with the amount of on-site design often outweighing planning in Concept and SD combined.

"Not only do budgets, scope changes and fast track schedules force important design decisions on site," Morpholio explains the need for TracePro, "but unforeseen field conditions, contractor errors and never ending client changes can all keep your team designing and problem solving throughout CA."

Scale photos

Five so-called "CA Super Tools" are the app's key features designed to make architects' lives in the field easier:

AR Drawing on Site: utilizing the iPhone's pow...

Airbnb announces AR and VR system concepts for renting rooms

2017-12-13T13:20:00-05:00

Airbnb announced today (Dec.11) that it’s experimenting with augmented- and virtual-reality technologies to enhance customers’ travel experiences. The company showed off some simple prototype ideas in a blog post, detailing how VR could be used to explore apartments that customers may want to rent, from the comfort of their own homes. Hosts could scan apartments or houses to create 360-degree images that potential customers could view on smartphones or VR headsets.

Airbnb's vision for their new augmented and virtual reality app would also include a way for hosts to leave notes in certain locations as a guest moves through the space. This would make instructions more clear to guests, especially to those who do not speak the same language.

Is that Augmented Reality in your pocket? Morpholio updates their apps to take advantage of Apple's new ARKit

2017-09-19T15:46:00-04:00

Apple's latest mobile operating system, iOS 11, just released today. One of the biggest updates that should get the attention of architects is ARKit, Apple's new augmented reality framework. ARKit provides the opportunity to for Apple and 3rd party developers to create AR experiences anew, or to enhance existing applications for iPhone and iPad.

Augmented reality is relatively old news, but the fact that this framework is now baked into the most popular mobile device in the world, soon to be married to Apple's latest AR-friendly hardware, is big news. Millions of people around the world will soon have some of the most advanced AR tools in their pockets, regardless if they want it. Businesses and app developers now have the opportunity to show the potential of AR to people without requiring them to purchase expensive new hardware and software.

Morpholio, a company that we've covered previously on Archinect, is dedicated to bringing this new technology to architects and interior des...

Transform your phone into an augmented-reality ruler with the soon-to-be-released app AR Measure

2017-06-29T13:46:00-04:00

If you've ever wanted to measure the dimensions of a window that you can't reach physically, it's largely been a trick of algebra. However, the new AR Measure App, as developed by Laan Labs, promises to make it easy to accurately measure physical objects by simply pointing an iOS device at it. In the demo video, the app is able to instantly render the dimensions of a physical object using the existing sensors of an iPhone or iPad.

"Boat." Image: AR Measure

In a press release, Laan Labs notes that “A lot of the credit here goes to the brilliant engineers at Apple. Our app is built on top of the ARKit Framework that was announced at WWDC 2017. That framework allows us to identify points in space using the iPhones sensors and camera input and then measure the distance between those points.”

"Stool." Image: AR Measure

The demos only show the measurement of height or width of relatively flat objects, as opposed to the surface of a curvy or circular item. In practical terms, this makes th...

Ikea is developing an Augmented Reality app

2017-06-19T20:30:00-04:00

Valdsgaard believes Apple’s know-how and recent progress within AR will be a crucial complement to Ikea’s in-house competencies. Another major benefit of working with Apple is the company’s gigantic ecosystem of users.

Ikea will partner with Apple to co-build an AR-based shopping app that will enable its users to try out virtual furniture at home before making buying decisions. Michael Valdsgaard, Leader of Digital Transformation at Inter Ikea, noted that the app is intended not to replace the company's physical stores but to compliment them.

Upon its launch in the Fall of 2017, the new AR app will have 500-600 products available.

Virtual reality transforms actual construction (and its ability to execute complexity)

2016-11-08T13:09:00-05:00

Speed, accuracy, and complexity don't have to be mutually exclusive in construction. At least, that's the theory behind augmented reality technologies that offer 3D glimpses of real-time construction sites, animated plans and even wall finishes (imagine holding up your phone In your abode and viewing a realistic display of what a new paint job could look like). As this article from The Guardian explains, developments in technology promise a great deal, but the actual execution is still coming along:

"There are signs that, beyond bringing flat blueprints and designs to life in front of clients, reducing on-site problems and easing investor worries, AR could provide an end-to-end service. Software is being developed that enables companies to show clients what the inside of a build will look like when furnished a certain way or the finishing touches have been applied to the outside. Of course, virtual reality allows this to be done before a project has been completed and sometimes in mo...

Pokémon Go is forcing us to grapple with 'virtual usage' zoning

2016-08-11T13:22:00-04:00

“if augmented reality really catches on, and an internet environment overlaid on our real world surroundings becomes common, what will be the rules around using that augmented space?" [...] Could you sell, lease, or subdivide the digital rights to your own home, yard, or lobby? Could you extract a toll, tax, or commission from virtual usage?

Referencing multiple, international cases of private property disputes over the mega-popular Pokémon Go game, Geoff Manaugh floats the idea of zoning regulations for virtual and augmented reality instances.

As players wander through public and private spaces alike to catch 'em all, they inevitably trespass on certain stakeholders ideas' of what's allowed in that space—especially if the 'Trainers' are profiting financially in any way from occupying, say, a suburban front yard.

As these disputes proliferate (whether from Pokémon Go, or the next AR/VR game to takes its place in popularity), Manaugh's piece poses the following: What rights do virtual entities have to be in those spaces? What rights to property owners have to keep Snorlax from napping in their hammock?

More AR/VR on Archinect: