Hardware for Augmented Reality🤳
Various AR components
Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience that combines the real world and computer-generated content. The content can span multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory, and olfactory. AR can be defined as a system that incorporates three basic features: a combination of real and virtual worlds, real-time interaction, and accurate 3D registration of virtual and real objects. The primary value of augmented reality is the manner in which components of the digital world blend into a person’s perception of the real world, not as a simple display of data, but through the integration of immersive sensations, which are perceived as natural parts of an environment.
The hardware components for augmented reality are a processor, display, sensors, and input devices. There are also five significant software components of AR: Artificial intelligence, AR software, and Processing.
The processor is responsible for running the AR software and processing the data from the sensors. The display is used to present the AR content to the user. Sensors such as cameras, accelerometers, and gyroscopes are used to track the user’s movements and the environment. Input devices such as touchscreens or controllers allow the user to interact with the AR content.
Artificial intelligence is used in AR to recognize objects and patterns in the real world. This allows the AR software to accurately place virtual objects in the real world. The AR software is responsible for generating and rendering the virtual content. Processing is used to manipulate and analyze data from sensors.
Processor
There is no specific processor used for AR, but the device needs to have a powerful CPU that integrates with the hardware design to ensure good performance and effective real-time calculations. Eg: Apple hardware and software are designed together for the best AR experience.
ARM’s Leadership in high-performance, low-power specialized processors is ideal for future experiences on AR smart glasses that will transform everyday lives in the future, from more immersive entertainment and gaming to navigation and translation.
According to Google, ARCore (AR environment developed by Google) is designed to work on a wide variety of qualified android phones running Android 7.0 (Nougat) and later.
Display
There are several types of displays available for AR. Head-mounted devices for virtual and augmented reality come in different shapes and sizes from the minimal Google Glass to the fully immersive HTC vive. At its core, head-mounted displays (HMDs) consist of two primary structural elements: optics and image displays. Augmenting displays can be broadly classified into two types: Optical See-through and Video see-through.
In optical See-though glasses, the user views reality directly through optical elements such as holographic waveguides and other systems that enable graphical overlay on the real world.
Video see-through is a type of augmented reality (AR) display that presents video feeds from cameras inside head-mounted devices. This is the standard method that phones use AR with. This can be useful when you need to experience something remotely: a robot which you send to fix a leak inside a chemical plant; a vacation destination that you’re thinking about. This is also useful when using an image enhancement system: thermal imagery, night-vision devices, etc.
Sensors
A wide range of sensor technologies is required to support augmented reality (AR) systems. Today’s AR implementations are mostly focused on visual and audio interfaces and rely on motion tracking and listening/voice recognition sensors. AR involves the creation of an environment that integrates the existing surroundings with virtual elements. As a result, AR uses more complex sensing, beginning with an IMU and adding time-of-flight sensors, heat mapping, structured light sensors, etc.
Most AR headsets rely on one or more special types of imaging sensors including; time of flight (ToF) cameras, vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) based light detection and ranging (LiDAR), binocular depth sensing, or structured-light sensors.
Input Devices
Input devices are used to record user interactions using sensors, as well as other objects and the environment. The data obtained in this way are summarized, if necessary, semantically interpreted and forwarded to the world simulation. The data obtained in this way are summarized, if necessary, semantically interpreted and forwarded to the world simulation. There is a wide range of VR/AR input devices available and a classification of these can be done in different ways. The distinction can be made based on accuracy (fine or coarse) or range (from an area that can be reached with an outstretched arm, to an area where one can walk or look around). It is also possible to distinguish between discrete input devices that generate one-time events, such as a mouse button or pinch glove (a glove with contacts on the fingertips) and continuous input devices that generate continuous streams of events (e.g., to continuously transmit the position of a moving object).
In conclusion, augmented reality is an exciting technology that combines the real world with computer-generated content. It has many applications in fields such as gaming, education, and medicine. The hardware and software components of AR work together to create an immersive experience for the user. The processor, display, sensors, and input devices are all important hardware components that enable AR to function. The software components, including artificial intelligence, AR software, and processing, are also crucial for creating realistic and engaging AR experiences. As AR technology continues to advance, we can expect to see even more innovative and exciting applications of this technology in the future.