iPhone OS 3.1 To Bring Augmented Reality Applications To iPhone Platform

Augmented reality are set to be the next stage for iPhone applications as Apple has silently included included undocumented APIs in the iPhone OS 3.0 to enable this.

Such is the buzz surrounding what the LAtimes calls "a mesmerizing software breed" that Apple has been forced to tell one developer, Acrossair, that any application developed will need to be approved for general distribution after Apple releases the next version of the iPhone OS, version 3.1.

This is expected to happen in early september. But already the iPhone OS SDK 3.1 beta 3 includes a Video API that will allow developers to mix video content with third party data.

Chetan Damani, Acrossair's director told LATimes that their App is working on OS 3.0 already and will have extra bits added in version 3.1 including full screen video.

The application developed by Acrossair uses video recorded using the iPhone camera to blend useful content such as the list of social networking websites to which a particular user belongs.

The list of possibilities however is almost limitless as developers will be able to use the iPhone's GPS, accelerometer, compass, audio recorder and even content from the internet.