Early Registration Extended to Sept. 25; Extra Discount for UCF Colleagues Visitors on the go who want information about almost any place of interest may soon discover “there’s an AP for that” as mixed reality (MR) and augmented reality (AR) technology spreads to handheld phones and mobile Internet devices.

How to improve and grow this technology is subject of one of the workshops featured at the International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality—ISMAR 2009—coming to Orlando October 19-22.

Emphasis this year (first time in Orlando) is on using this new technology to “Melt the Boundaries between Dreams and Reality.”

ISMAR 2009 traditionally attracts from around the world prominent researchers and developers from top-tiered universities and emerging enterprises. Participants exchange research results and ideas during workshops, tutorials, paper and panel presentations and hands-on demonstrations.

This year, ISMAR 2009 will add an emphasis on arts media and humanities to its core of science and technology programming.

“Returning research scientists and engineers will not be disappointed in the depth of information about computer science, human factors, real-time graphic rendering, optics, ubiquitous computing, computer vision, tracking and imaging,” said symposium co-chair Christopher Stapleton. “The arts media and humanities program,” said Stapleton, “adds a layer of application for MR and AR technology, in exploring new ways to impact human experience in education, training, entertainment, design and media production.”

Conference organizers have promised “the most comprehensive tutorials program ever,” with pioneers in AR and MR research delivering lessons on AR tracking, content development, MR/AR enabling technologies and human performance enhancement with MR/AR.

Keynote speakers are Mark Mine, Director, Technical Concept Design, Walt Disney Imagineering, Natasha Tsakos, Playwright, Conceptual Director and Performer, and Pattie Maes, Director Fluid Interface Lab, MIT Media Lab.

First-day workshops are examples of the conference’s subject diversity:

Falling in Love with Learning: Education and Entertainment Converge with Learning Landscapes is for those who use AR technology to design memorable and lasting experiences for visitors and students.

Transforming Lives: High-Performance, High-Risk Training with Mixed Reality is for professionals in or planning a career in medical and military training fields, designing services and applications for the betterment of the human condition through technology.

Manufacturing the Future: Use of Mixed and Augmented Reality in Design and Manufacturingont is those active in industrial and spatial design and related fields, whether in a factory, design studio, commercial property or marketing.

Mobile Augmented Reality Workshops

Let’s Go Out: Research in Outdoor MR and AR is for researchers in academia and corporate laboratories and those who are interested in approaches to solving the most pressing challenges facing research in Outdoor AR.

The Mobile Magic Wand: AR on Mobile Devices is for those currently developing or supplying commercial AR solutions for public use on phones and mobile Internet devices, providing tools and platforms for commercial grade solutions and planning to provide/publish commercial mobile AR.

Social Networking and Augmented Reality

AR 2.0: Social Augmented Reality is for researchers, practitioners and interested observers of topics at the intersection of AR and Social Networking.

The Orlando Downtown Marriott is host hotel for ISMAR 2009.