Augmented reality and virtual spaces are going to become more and more common simply because the hardware is dropping in price. Nowadays a video projector and good graphics card will only set you back a few hundred bucks and sensor technology is getting real cheap too. The Augmented Coliseum is a fine example of how this technology can enhance a real world application.
The University of Electro-Communications in Tokyo has developed Augmented Coliseum, an amazing (just have a look at the video) augmented reality game environment that enables virtual functions for playing a game using small robots and vehicles, superimposing computer graphics onto toys in the real world.
The remote-controlled vehicles scurry around, while status circles and other data are projected on the surface. As the vehicle moves, cameras and photo-detectors relay the movement to tracking software.
Images are projected to the areas corresponding to the actual positions and directions of the toys: virtual laser beams and missiles appear to fly out of the real vehicles; explosions are overlayed on the screen as they connect with their targets.
