It's the kind of technology that science fiction films like The Terminator have been predicting for a while, but industrial designer Peter Gould has a much more down to earth view on where "augmented reality", or AR, will pop up in people's lives.

AR is like the virtual reality concept, but instead of a fully computer-generated world, AR gives the user a mixture of computer-generated 3D images and the "real" world as captured by a camera lens.

The use of AR has been restricted to research labs up until now, but Gould, a graduating student of the UTS Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building, has developed a prototype to put augmented reality into the hands of everyday users like doctors, product designers, architects and school kids.

"AR has a lot of potential for professional and educational applications, but there aren't yet any commercially available products using it and that's the gap I've aimed for," Gould said. "The goal of my 'visualAR' system was to make the technology both affordable and simple to use."

Gould's visualAR prototype is a combination of hardware – a head mounted display (HMD) not much bigger than a pair of sunglasses – and software that can be run by a standard PC or laptop. At its heart is open source AR software over which Gould has built his "plug-in-and-go" user interface.

"It works by a system of visual markers or icons," he said. "When the HMD camera picks up a printed marker in its field of vision it triggers the computer to insert a particular 3D image into the 'real' scene. The graphics appear on top of the square markers and can be moved around as if they were tangible objects.

"Using this system medical students could examine cross-sections of human anatomy, product designers could instantly preview their 3D creations in scale and perspective and architects could view their streetscapes from any angle.

"All they need to do is install the software, plug in their HMD and begin. They could either import 3D data, static or animated, from their favourite CAD software package or use a pre-defined set of markers and 3D images developed for certain industries.

"An industry package I developed for the prototype is 'medicAR', which was done in consultation with an experienced GP. Potentially a doctor could demonstrate medical procedures to patients using 'real-life' 3D anatomy or even use 3D models as part of gradual exposure therapy in psychological applications.

"Essentially there are endless possibilities for bringing models and simulations to life this way."

Gould's visualAR prototype was part of last month's UTS: Design Graduate Exhibition 04, a first-ever combined exhibition of work by final-year students in the disciplines of Fashion and Textile Design, Industrial Design, Interior Design and Visual Communication.