Easy Mobile Augmented Reality using Python

Advances in mobile technology, including the constant increase in the processing power of mobile devices and in connectivity have turned mobile devices into a powerful platform for Augmented Reality (AR) applications. Thanks to this evolution, different technologies, such as AR, Global Positioning Systems (GPS), 3G connectivity and Bluetooth can now be used on mobile devices to capture, present and share AR data. Despite the infinite advantages of using these features, the development of AR applications has become an increasingly complicated task. The use of scripting and interpreted languages, such as Python, simplifies this task, making it easier to prototype advanced AR applications. This paper presents how developing a Python wrapper for common performance-critical software modules in Symbian C++ can increase the speed of development of such applications. Augmented Reality programs then become much shorter, consisting of only a few lines of code.