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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsMicrosoft’s connection between Bing Maps and augmented reality was not one clearly documented consumer-feature launch. The historical record points to three distinct efforts: a reported 2010 demonstration, AR-like overlays in a 2011 Streetside article, and a 2013 tutorial for developers building a sensor-driven Windows Store app.
Three different Bing Maps AR efforts
| When | What Microsoft showed or described | What it establishes |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | A TED demonstration reported by Neowin, involving live phone video overlaid on static market imagery inside Bing Maps. | A reported demonstration—not confirmation of a released feature or its availability. |
| 2011 | Microsoft described Streetside imagery with listings, street names, storefronts and bus routes layered over it in an “augmented reality type fashion.” | An AR-like map-view overlay, distinct from a sensor-driven app. |
| 2013 | A Microsoft Maps Blog tutorial showed developers how to build a Windows Store app with Bing Maps and the Geospatial Augmented Reality Toolkit (GART). | A developer example using location and device-orientation sensors to place points of interest in view—not a general feature rollout. |
What the 2010 demonstration showed
Neowin reported that Microsoft’s Blaise Aguera y Arcas demonstrated an augmented-reality map integration at TED 2010. Its account describes live phone video combined with static market imagery inside Bing Maps. That report is a contemporaneous secondary account, not a product specification.
The same article quoted a Microsoft spokesperson saying, “While we have released the Flickr Crowd Source integration for Seattle, San Francisco and Vancouver, we haven’t released timeframes or details for the other features demoed at Ted.” The remark is an important limit: the report does not establish that the demonstrated AR concept became a released Bing Maps feature.
What Streetside added in 2011
Microsoft’s May 31, 2011 article described Streetside users moving along a street while viewing street imagery with business listings, street names, storefronts and bus routes overlaid. Microsoft called this an “augmented reality type fashion.” That wording describes the presentation of information on street imagery; it does not establish that Streetside used the same sensor-driven approach shown in the later tutorial.
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How the 2013 Windows Store sample worked
Microsoft’s 2013 tutorial, “Augmented Reality with Bing Maps in a Windows Store App”, explained how to build an app using Bing Maps and GART. The example queried nearby points of interest and displayed their information in an augmented-reality view as well as on a small map. The tutorial also described adapting the sample to use custom data in Bing Spatial Data Services.
Position and direction sensors
In the tutorial’s basic two-dimensional example, a location sensor provided the user’s position and a compass supplied the direction the device was pointed. It described an inclinometer as a way to obtain yaw, pitch and roll readings when tilt or elevation mattered. It also discussed an orientation sensor combining accelerometer, compass and gyrometer readings: the tutorial said this could make movement smoother, at the cost of more complicated mathematics.
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Those are descriptions of the 2013 sample and its platform context, not current development guidance. The tutorial’s setup for its C# or Visual Basic example called for references to the Bing Maps SDK and Microsoft Visual C++ Runtime Package; that historical requirement should not be taken as a recommendation for a new project.
What the sample meant by augmented reality
Ricky Brundritt, identified at the end of Microsoft’s tutorial as EMEA Bing Maps Technology Solution Professional, described AR this way: “Augmented reality (AR) is when an object that is not present in the real world, but appears to be because of a view showing a modified version of reality.” In the tutorial’s example, the app placed nearby points of interest into the user’s view based on location and orientation inputs.
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What the historical record does—and does not—confirm
- The 2010 item is a report of a demonstration; it does not document a consumer release.
- The 2011 Streetside article documents information overlays on street imagery and characterizes their presentation as AR-like.
- The 2013 tutorial documents a developer-built Windows Store sample that used Bing Maps, GART, location and orientation sensors.
- The cited pages do not establish the present availability or support status of the sample, SDK, GART, Bing Spatial Data Services or related Bing Maps functionality.
Accordingly, “Microsoft adds augmented reality to Bing Maps” is best understood as a shorthand for related work across different years and contexts—not as evidence of one confirmed, currently available Bing Maps feature. The historical sources provide no adoption, accuracy, coverage or performance figures.
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