Amongst a series of predictions that boldly claim 2011 to be 'the year' for Augmented Reality, sceptics still question when a genuinely useful AR application will be commercially viable or possible within current technological constraints. With this in mind, cue Word Lens, an app that uses your iPhone’s camera to optically recognise formatted text images and instantly translates them to the desired language (currently Spanish / English only).

The developer of the application, Quest Visual, has already indicated that they are working as fast as possible to implement further languages and they hope to have them available soon. Trans Lens, an alternative app, has already launched in the wake of Word Lens' publicity, also claiming to support a multitude of languages.This is a solid example of how useful augmented reality will become on a daily basis.

Word Lens is a great example of how an AR application can be effectively combined with existing services and monetised. This app provides an outlet for the technology that surpasses the common connotation of 'gimmick' by offering a simple product that would appeal to most people, and could be essential in some cases.

Within 3 days, the YouTube video 'Introducing Word Lens' posted by Quest Visual, accumulated 1.4 million views, (over 3 million to date) along with rave reviews from key publications such as Wired, The Economist and The New York.

Word Lens makes use of what is commonly referred to as 'Diminished Reality'. This is the rendering of physical objects, 'invisible' in real-time. The team at Word Lens accomplished this by reducing the quality of the image. They are then able to overlay digitally rendered text in its place which simplifies complicated visual barriers instantly. Although we have free translation services, online consumers are increasingly using ‘on-demand services’, this being a sophisticated example.

Suggested uses with real-world functionality have included the following:

• Surgeons removing (or reducing opacity of) their hands during an operation allowing them to focus, without obstruction, on their instruments and the patient

• CCTV cameras that remove people from view, enabling easier tracking of a lost child or assailant in a crowd 

• Car wind screen that removes billboards and other distracting advertising automatically

As 2011 is tipped to be an important year for augmented reality and computer vision, with its progression into the mobile and tablet markets, we can surely expect to see more exciting developments incorporating several variations of this technology.