Researchers at Miami University have built an augmented reality app called ShelvAR that allows books on library shelves to be easier organized. The app quickly analyzes an entire shelf of books and identifies any out of order books; showing the librarian the fastest way to put the books back in order.
ShelvAR is an Android app that uses a set of coded tags on the spines of the books that represent the call numbers. When a user of an Android enabled device holds it up to a shelf, the app reads all of the tags at once. Then the app sorts the codes from the tags to identify the correct order of the books and shows the shortest number of moves needed to reorganize them. The ShelvAR app displays a red “X” over all misfiled books and a corresponding arrow indicating where they really belong.
Currently the app utilizes half-inch tags, but the researchers are working on developing tags that work with 75 to 150 quarter-inch-thin books. In December 2011, they’ll intend to test the app in part of the Miami University library.utilizing ShelvAR tags could save libraries time and money in the long run, due to the reduced amount of time workers need to do shelf checks “by hand.”
Besides this tool being ideal for use in libraries, it has great potential use in any type of mass indexing system: book stores, grocery stores, stock rooms, etc. After you have reviewed the above video, please share with us your thoughts on this new AR app.
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