Creating a compelling user experience starts with the technology. Nokia Research Center's ambition is to research and solve complex scientific problems to strengthen Nokia's competitiveness in the converging worlds of internet and mobility. It drives breakthroughs that reach far into the future, enabling new business opportunities for Nokia.

Nokia Research Center works closely with all Nokia business units and at GDC this year, NRC brings an exciting line-up of demos that could potentially open doors for mobile gaming and blur the lines between reality and virtual reality. These four demos from Nokia Research Center may help to inspire your creativity:

Nokia Image Space

Nokia Image Space, developed by NRC, is a prototype of a new online community tool that creates an exciting image based mirror world by combing a wide range of digital media in a highly personalized and entertaining way.

This new online service brings user generated photos, videos and sounds together with location and movement information. Nokia Image Space allows users to share content from their real world experiences with friends in a social networking environment. The service uses digital maps, location-based content and MapTP technology from NAVTEQ.

For example, you may want to share a pleasant experience at a local park with friends. Using Nokia Image Space they'd be able to see a satellite image of the park, then follow in your footsteps as they virtually wander through it enjoying the different sights and sounds you experienced via pieces of multimedia.

These could include links to the history of statues in the park, video footage taken during your walk, and relevant sounds, such a music concert recently performed in the park. Content from other users can be added to help enrich your own information and fill any possible gaps.

Nokia Image Space uses a device's ability to sense its surroundings to gather relevant information automatically. Sensors in the mobile devices gather spatial and temporal data, all the time. This is combined with user generated multimedia information to create a compelling online environment.

This project is part of a series of NRC studies focused on enhancing interaction between users and the different media and information in the world around them. It is built on more than a decade of academic research into mixed or augmented reality. It was also listed as one of the 10 top technologies by the MIT Technology Review.