Everything starts with an idea–but not every single idea that mankind has ever thought of are sane. Or maybe they were, but comprehending them doesn’t come without a person or two saying “huh?” I find it pretty amusing how these once super high technologies fade away to normality with time. Nothing is meant to be hype forever. Mankind is easily absorbed, easily bored.

I can still recall the rise of GPS like it was yesterday, and it enabled a lot of technologies and features that we’re all enjoying right now. Every smartphone on the planet has GPS embedded within, and it has caused way more than enough lawsuits filed in courts all over the world. But the point now is, it has faded from the buildup. People are aware of GPS the same way they know that the earth revolves around the sun.

But the new technology to follow the footprints of the hype of GPS is on its way. Amsterdam, Netherlands-based Layar, the largest open platform for mobile augmented reality (AR), just announced the winners of Layar Creation Challenge.

The competition is aimed at developing applications showing that augmented reality can be a vital asset to commerce, adding real value to existing businesses. ‘AR Posters’ emerged as the winner of the $15,000 grand prize, while ‘Buy it!’ and ‘Food2You’ were awarded second ($10,000) and third ($7,500) place prizes. The apps chosen among the top three are believed to have the potential to fundamentally change the way people shop for goods and services.

“We encouraged developers to think big and they showed they were up to the challenge by coming up with creative, smart business ideas that have lasting value for both the user and layer publisher,” said Maarten Lens-FitzGerald, Layar co-founder and General Manager.

First prize winner, AR posters, enabled people to watch previews, win tickets and more by scanning a concert poster. It has an online management system. The ‘Buy it!’ allows customers to buy and compare prices directly on top of product packaging, and ‘Food2You’ enables interactivity on top of a menu, such as recipe information and ordering food for delivery.

“Augmented Reality, in my view, is the next GPS; i.e., it will become a standard, no-brainer technology used by most consumers,” said Gerd Leonhard, Media Futurist and jury member. “Among the applicants there was a lot of creativity and innovation. Applications such as AR Posters could very well become widely used and integrated into many services within the next 18 months.”

We also have Total Immersion, another global leader and pioneer in augmented reality, announcing the release of the new version of D’Fusion Studio, 3.2. It will allow developers to create a new breed of rich cross-platform games (for iOS, Android, Web, Kinect and kiosk) and applications that leverage Total Immersion’s groundbreaking AR technology, and it’s available for free.

D’Fusion Studio claims to be better than other AR solution in three categories: breed of rich cross-platform games and applications that leverage Total Immersion’s groundbreaking AR technology.

“D’Fusion Studio uses superior AR technology to get as close as possible to erasing the line between reality and the digital world,” said Total Immersion CEO Bruno Uzzan. “Now, by making D’Fusion Studio free to all developers we’ve removed yet another barrier—developers are limited only by their imagination.”

Lastly, there’s iOnRoad’s Augmented Driving app. It uses your Android device’s rear camera to look at the traffic in front of you while using the complex visual algorithms to determine headway, speed, direction and potential traffic threats. You can switch to your music player, messaging app or phones and you’ll still get alerts from iOnRoad to keep you updated of potential dangers.