Augmented Reality combines the real world (what you see around you) with a virtual environment and allows you to interact with what you see in real-time. Data about what’s around you (houses for sale, restaurants, etc.) are displayed as an additional layer and you can interact with the information. Check out this example via Layar, an augmented reality browser for mobile devices.

These interactive, 3D maps that display information based on your location have a variety of uses as they continue to evolve and expand:

• Advertising: Interact with products in 3D based on tags on the product itself (and your computer/phone’s camera reading the tags)
• Sightseeing/Tourism: Adds an extra element to a “walking tour” if you can interact with monuments and areas without having to touch those public informational signs (use the antibacterial spray ah!)
• Medical/Mechanical Fields: Complex tasks such as assembly, maintenance, and surgery can be simplified by inserting additional information into the field of view. For example, labels can be displayed on parts of a system to clarify operating instructions for a mechanic who is performing maintenance on the system. (via Wikipedia)

Anyone else have examples of Augmented reality and mashups?