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Augmented Reality 扩增实境

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What once existed only on the big screen can now be a reality in our daily lives  过去只出现在大银幕上的扩增实境，如今已在日常生活中实现

“Augmented reality” may sound like indecipherable technobabble, but the concept behind this technology is familiar to anyone who has seen any of the Terminator movies.

「扩增实境」乍听之下也许像是令人难以理解的科技术语，但这个科技背后的概念，其实对任何看《魔鬼终结者》系列电影的人来说，都不算陌生。

In the sci-fi films, a cyborg is able to scan its surrounding area and superimpose data on what it sees, allowing it to get background information on humans. Now, after years of use in academic and industrial circles – not to mention science fiction – augmented reality is coming to consumers, who can expect to see it in their everyday lives.

在该科幻电影中，半机械人能扫描周遭环境，然后把数据添加到所见到的事物上，让它能取得有关人类的背景资料。如今，扩增实境在学术界和工业界使用多年之后──科幻界就更不用说了──也开始普及到消费大众了，大家可以预期将在日常生活中见到它的芳踪。

The technology overlays computer data on the real world when viewed through a live video feed. Consumers can see the early results of mainstream augmented reality in entertainment, interactive shopping experiences, magazines and even mobile phone applications.

透过实时影像传输来观察真实世界时，这种科技会把电脑数据重复加在真实世界上。消费者可以在娱乐、互动购物经验、杂志，或甚至是移动电话应用中，见识到主流扩增实境的初期成果。

But 2009 was a “real tipping point” for augmented reality, said Greg Davis, general manager for North America at Total Immersion. “We’ve seen it proliferate onto multiple screens, computers and mobile screens, in home and out of home.”

不过，二００九年可说是扩增实境的「真正引爆点」，全然沈浸公司北美部总经理葛雷格．戴维斯表示，「我们已经见到这种技术在多屏幕、电脑和行动屏幕上的应用激增，无论是在家里，或在家门外都不例外。」

Web cameras and avatars  网络摄影机和虚拟化身

[In 2009], Total Immersion created baseball trading cards for Topps Co. that, when held in front of a web camera, make a three-dimensional avatar of the player appear on the screen. It also designed product tie-ins for the film Avatar for McDonald’s and Mattel, with technology embedded in Big Mac packages and action figures that makes animated 3-D landscapes and characters come to life when scanned by a web camera.

在二００九年，全然沈浸公司为托普斯公司设计了棒球交换卡，如果手持这种卡在网络摄影机前面，就能在屏幕上显现出球员的三度空间虚拟化身。该公司也为麦当劳和美泰儿等公司设计出电影《阿凡达》的相关商品，例如在大麦克汉堡的包装和公仔上内嵌特殊技术，以致于经由网络摄影机扫描之后，就能让动画三度空间风景和人物变得栩栩如生。

These consumer-oriented applications are possible because web cameras are a standard feature of most new desktop and laptop computers. The software in the applications also works with current web browsers and does not require a cumbersome download.

这类以消费者为导向的应用之所以成真，是因为网络摄影机已经是大多数新型桌上和笔记本电脑的标准配备，而这些应用的软件也适用于现行的网络浏览器，所以不需要麻烦的下载。

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augmented reality 扩增实境 a composite view that is the combination of computer-generated images merged with the real environment

augmented [ɔgˋmɛntɪd] adj. 增加的

technobabble [ˋtɛknəbæb!] n. 技术呓语（普通人难以理解的科技术语）technical language that is difficult for ordinary people to understand

cyborg [ˋsaɪbɔrg] n. = cybernetic organism 半机械人; 电子人

circle [ˋsɝk!] n. (指朋友或有相同兴趣或职业的人组成的)圈子，界

overlay [ˋovɚˋle] v. 覆盖；铺在……上面

feed [fid] v. 将(信息)输入

tipping point 临界点; 爆发点 the time at which a change or an effect cannot be stopped

immersion [ɪˋmɝʃən] n. 沉浸，浸没

proliferate [prəˋlɪfə͵ret] v.【生】（使）增殖；（使）激增；（使）扩散

avatar [͵ævəˋtɑr] n.【计算机】（术语）指在虚拟现实中互动地呈现一个人; 化身；天神下凡

tie-in [ˈtaɪˌɪn] n.【美】搭卖；搭配; 搭配销售的商品

action figure 动作人形玩具；人物动作；活动人偶；公仔

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The next wave of new programs likely will be for smart phones. The growth in third-party applications for mobile software platforms such as Apple’s iPhone system and Google’s Android means independent developers can experiment with augmented reality.

下一波新的程序运用很可能会是智能型手机。针对如苹果的iPhone系统和Google（谷歌）Android等行动软件平台的第三方应用的成长，意味着独立研发商已经能实验性地运用扩增实境了。

“You’ve not got just whatever Nokia and others can dream up, but potentially thousands of people thinking, ‘What can I do with this?’” said Jackie Fenn, vice president and research fellow at Gartner.

「你不但得到了诺基亚和其他厂商梦寐以求的东西，还可望令数以千计的人不禁心想：『我能用这来做什么？』」顾能公司副总裁及研究员杰基．芬恩表示。

Yelp launched an augmented reality application for the iPhone 3GS in 2009 called Monocle. When a user holds a phone’s camera to view a city street, information about nearby businesses pops up on the screen. Yelp developers started working on Monocle after the launch of the newest iPhone, which had the compass, camera, large display and other features necessary to handle the application.

Yelp在二００九年iPhone 3GS推出了扩增实境运用程序，称为Monocle。当使用者持着手机的摄影机来观看市内的街道时，有关附近公司的信息就会跳到屏幕上显现。最新款iPhone问世之后，Yelp研发人员就开始从事Monocle的研发，iPhone拥有包括罗盘、摄影机、大型显示屏幕和其他处理这种应用程序所必需的功能配备。

More interaction  更多互动

Industry players say the next step for augmented reality is greater interactivity.

业界人士表示，扩增实境的下一步，就是更高的互动性。

Enhanced interaction would benefit business uses of augmented reality, such as videoconferencing technology.

增高的互动对扩增实境的商业运用有帮助，像是视频会议科技。

“People don’t want to take turns showing data,” said Charles Stucki of Cisco’s Telepresence videoconferencing business unit. “One of the key things we see coming is the ability for people in these rooms to manipulate, annotate and share [data], and then set it to the side and keep working.”

「大家不喜欢轮流显示数据，」思科网真视频会议事业部门的查尔斯．史塔基表示，「我们看到的一个重要现象就是，这些（会议）室里的人有能力去操弄、注释和分享数据数据，然后把这些都抛在一旁，开始继续工作。」

Matthew Szymczyk, chief executive of interactive marketing agency Zugara, said the challenge for the augmented reality industry will be making sure new applications don’t just use the technology for its own sake. “There are so many brands and marketers that want to jump on this,” he said. “It’s important to take a step back and see how the consumer will use it.”

互动营销的祖加拉公司执行长马修．席姆柴克表示，扩增实境所面临的挑战是，要能确保应用程序并非只是纯粹使用这种科技而已。「有好多品牌和营销人员都希望抢食这块市场，」他表示，「重要的是要往后退一步，然后看看消费者会如何使用它。」

−by Wailin Wong

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dream up 凭空想象, 虚构, 编造

videoconference [ˋvɪdɪo͵kɑnfərəns] n. 视频会议；电视会议

annotate [ˋæno͵tet] v. 批注，给……作批注  to add a short explanation or opinion to a text or drawing

for one’s own sake 为了自己的利益; 为了自身的缘故 for one's good or benefit

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Vocabulary Focus

indecipherable [͵ɪndɪˋsaɪfərəb!] adj. 难读解的；难领悟的 unable to be read or understood

superimpose [͵supərɪmˋpoz] v. 把……放置在上面重迭；加上去 to position an image over another image so that both images can be seen together

cumbersome [ˋkʌmbɚsəm] adj. 累赘的；麻烦的 awkward because of being large, heavy or not effective

wave [wev] n. 浪潮；（活动等的）高潮; 波 a trend in something, such as art, music, politics, etc., which is intentionally different from traditional ideas in that subject or activity

interactivity [ˌɪntərækˈtɪvəti] n. 互动 design that involves the user of a system or computer program in the exchange of information

enhance [ɪnˋhæns] v. 提高，增加（价值，质量，吸引力等）to improve the quality, amount or strength of something

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