Physical navigation, as I see it, is making sense of information, direction and locality. In recent years (and certainly in years to come), a new technological innovation has evolved that will change how we view and traverse the physical world. Augmented Reality (AR)—overlaying computer-generated imagery onto a live view of the physical world through the use of a camera device or viewer—combined with GPS technology will enable us to see information displayed in front of our eyes that is relevant to our current location.

I’m really excited to see the progress we’ll make with AR in 2010. In particular, I’m excited to explore how I may potentially incorporate it into my thesis. Since information, direction and locality are important elements in physical navigation, I make the observation that navigation in the emotional sense employs the same elements but to a different end. In other words, if we can potentially use AR to improve wayfinding (providing driving directions, pin-pointing nearby POIs, locating the nearest restrooms, etc.), why not use it to improve our emotional well-being as well?

I came across this video created by Keiichi Matsuda that exaggerates the future of AR but also opens our eyes to what’s to come. Designers should look at it as a reference for “What NOT to do.”