Augmented Reality

Okay, as any of you may have guessed by now, I learned a long time ago to embrace my inner geek. So when I came across GE’s Augmented Reality web site, I exclaimed “How incredibly cool is that?!?” Just ask my wife who only looked at me with a worried expression on her face.

GE has historically had some pretty cute marketing ideas. This one is designed to promote their Smart Grid technology, billed as being a more eco-friendly by using alternate energy sources such as wind turbines and solar panels. Further, according to Wikipedia, “a smart grid delivers electricity from suppliers to consumers using digital technology to save energy, reduce cost and increase reliability.” While I don’t know all the ins and outs, pros and cons of Smart Grid Technology (sounds like a good idea, at least), I have to say that GE’s Augmented Reality is pretty cool. Check out the following video demonstration. If you want to try it out for yourself, click here. You’ll need a web cam and be able to print out a sheet of paper from the web site.

(Side note: as was pointed out to me, you have to wonder about the eco-friendliness of a promotional tool that has you print out a piece of paper only to throw it away 5 minutes later. But anyway…)