Augmented Reality Mobile Applications: Challenges and Solutions

Mobile devices are radically changing the way in which we work and communicate. The most innovative smartphones provide several features that support, without additional hardware, the adoption of Augmented Reality interfaces in mobile applications, enabling the combination of the real world with virtual information on the device screen. In the original vision, Augmented Reality enabled only to superimpose relevant information on the mobile device, using knowledge of the user's position and other context. More recently, following the web 2.0 direction, new solutions allow the user to create and share information. In this paper, we review related work, identify the most relevant patents and detail the challenges in this field. We also describe the main results and patents adopting this technology in different application fields and outline future developments.