We’ve read old-fashioned printed books, e-books, and then audiobooks. Now, another book format, a-books, is making the news. A-books, short for augmented reality books, are soon to enter the mass-market production phase, thanks to the latest research project undertaken by the University of Surrey.
What are A-Books (Augmented Reality Books)?
A-books are like e-books but with a more immersive reading experience. A-books would provide readers with access to multimedia content about their reads. And this is all while maintaining the feel and look of a physical, printed book. Readers can access related content on their laptops, phones, or smart TVs.
For example, if you’re reading a novel, you can swipe your fingers over a character’s name in the a-book. As a result, all related information about the character will flash up on your device.
Dr. Radu Sporea at the University of Surrey says,”
We’re familiar with traditional books, obviously, and e-books are everywhere. We’re trying to reconcile the benefits of both without bringing the downsides.
Magic Bookmarks
Sporea and his colleagues have also developed a “magic bookmark.” It’s a physical bookmark that identifies an optical pattern on a book’s pages. You can lay it down on a page to flash up all the information on your device’s screen. The magic bookmark connects to an electronic system on the book’s cover. The bookmark features many light sensors, which then read codes printed on each page.
The best bit about this is that you can print it without having to introduce electronics on every single page of every book.
The new A-book technology may not augment every single book, especially because people still like printed books because they are interested in handling them. But it’s surely going to work for fantasy novels, children’s books, or user manuals. This may also work for wedding albums that keep your precious memories in themselves, and that would be the link videos and other similar multimedia things.
One example of the a-book technology is the Climate Domesday Book, which was exhibited in the UK and Australia in 2022 at the John Curtin Gallery. The book plays audio and video on the nearest screen for passages highlighted by readers.
Navkiran Dhaliwal is a seasoned content writer with 10+ years of experience. When she's not writing, she can be found cooking up a storm or spending time with her dog, Rain.