AR's definitely hitting the UK but the implementation's a bit rubbish

I was in a Wetherspoons pub last night. Ont he real ale menu there was
an AR marker - a small rectangle with a crazy black and white pattern
tucked into the corner of the menu. A suitably equipped smartphone once
it had downloaded the software could access the tasting notes for the
weekly rotation of real ales available in the Wetherspoons pubs.

I asked the bar lady if anyone had used the AR marker. She looked at me
blankly. I explained it was the bit at the bottom right of the tasting
menu. She looked at me blankly. I picked up the menu and pointed to the
AR marker. She said, "oh....I hadn't noticed that. No. No one's used it."

I chuckled somewhat. It's not surprising really. Most people who drink
real ale are old men, often not of professional status (at least in
Wetherspoons), and most don't know what augmented reality is nor own a
smartphone.

But this is a very early implementation of AR. Companies are
experimenting with it but they don't really know how to get it right
yet. For a start the user would have to download software to use the AR
marker. There was a link next to the tasting notes. A punter would have
to type this long and unfriendly web address to download the software to
use the AR marker to view the tasting notes. It's the sort of thing an
early adopter might bother to do but I doubt many consumers would bother.

A better implementation would require smartphones be able to recognise
web addresses if there's not a standard application to cover all AR
markers. An application like that would be really useful for bridging
the gap between direct marketing web addresses used in advertisements
and users who don't bother to remember web addresses. I suspect this
already exists because it's such an obvious implementation of the
technologies available. Text recognition with a 5 megapixel smartphone
camera is pretty easy.

Wetherspoon's AR implementation may be better suited to a champagne and
wine bar in the financial area of London rather than a cheap pub chain
and a product consumed by a demographic that tend not to use modern
technology. But, like Quiznos, they're just experimenting with the
latest technology because those that get experience now will be
advantaged as the industry matures and the consumer starts to use AR.