I work in Cyber Security and today I was shown an AR experience with Splunk where you point your camera on your phone to a QR Code on a device etc, and it will display in AR a screen with details about whatever you are pointing at. Could be details about activity on the network or temps on servers or whatever. You could move around and see all the data - move up closer for a better look etc. Here is an example albeit just a static image: https://www.splunk.com/content/dam/splunk-blogs/images/2019/04/ConnectedExperiences_blog_8.png
So it got me thinking, wouldn’t it be cool that you could print a QR Code on your wall in each room that when you hover your phone or iPad over the QR code it takes you to an AR version of Home Assistant that can cover the whole wall (in AR world) which you can then hover your phone over the screen and select different lights etc on and off. It would allow you to interact with a much larger space than just a phone screen as you move all around the big screen in AR. Also, to make it even better, you could have separate QR codes in each room that takes you to the controls of just that room. So you walk into a room, hold up your phone to the QR Code and an AR screen pops up which you can fully interact with and provides heaps of details.
And when AR glasses are everywhere, it’d be fantastic.
I’ve had a look around to see if there are any AR apps that read a QR Code take you to an address in a browser in AR for you to interact with but haven’t found anything yet. Simplest solution… Anyone have any ideas on whether there are any tools to make this possible?
It would be cool but, in my opinion, not particularly convenient. If I have my phone in hand, I can already control everything in a room, and view all data about the room, in the Lovelace UI. All without having to point my phone at anything.
In the proposed scenario, I would use my phone like a keyhole into an alternate universe. Cool, yes, but now I have to point it at the physical device I wish control/query (and only if I’ve already tattooed it with a QR code … not a very attractive addition).
In the first scenario my phone allows me to control any device in the house without even being near it. In the second scenario, I have to be within sight of the device. Actually, even closer; I have to be within the phone’s sight of the QR code which basically means within arm’s reach of the device.
Oh yes, totally agree. Using HA on a browser on your phone would be more convenient. But as AR becomes more relevant (forgetting google glass!) these kinds of setups could be the norm. As you mention, it’s all about the cool factor at this point as well as being location aware (QR code for each area gives a different AR screen). And it would allow for a larger space in AR to work with (but your arms might get tired moving all around your wall!!)
Actually, let’s not forget Google Glass. It offers a valuable lesson about how some consumer-level technologies don’t receive a warm welcome. The enthusiasm expressed for it was no less that your enthusiasm for this idea. Yet it never fulfilled its promise (to be fair, it was in limited supply to testers only). There were several reasons (like video-recording/privacy issues), not the least of it being the need to … wear glasses (and unattractive ones at that too). So the widespread adoption of AR glasses remains to be seen (no pun intended).
The need for QR codes is problematic:
There’s an aesthetics issue. Just like Google Glass was ‘style-challenged’, decorating household objects with QR codes may only appeal to those who like the look of a living in a warehouse.
If I’m within arm’s reach of a device, to have the phone read the QR code, it seems absurd to continue using the phone to turn on a switch that’s now inches from my fingertip.
Cool, this brainstorn, came to me a more usual idea, what if with a presence sensor ble, recognize the room I am in, and the homeasssantant already open the flap attached to this room?
(Sorry for the google translation)
I believe what they are asking is that HA automatically display/switch to the love lace view of the room you are in, based on the presence sensor.
I can’t help with being able to do it but I think that is what they are requesting.