Take A Peek Into The Larger Than Life Reality!

As a regular and avid reader of Decode, you might know a bit about Virtual Reality. We are here again, this time with its estranged cousin, Augmented Reality. Read below to know more!

What is Augmented Reality and how it is different from Virtual Reality?

Augmented Reality (AR) is the result of using technology to superimpose information like sound, visual elements or other sensory stimuli to the real world. It overlays information and virtual objects in real-world scenes in real-time. It is an enhanced version of the reality. For example, Snapchat filters of dancing animals or your Bitmoji, where the background depends on what your camera captures and animation is added to it, in real-time.

Virtual Reality (VR), on the other hand, is computer generated environments for you to interact with. You can be immersed in them. For example, a virtual football game assisted with VR headsets. It generates a ball and a virtual stadium and you can play with your team. It creates a virtual reality.

AR in today’s world

AR continues to develop and turn into something pervasive among a wide range of applications. It might be considered as a futuristic technology, ironically, it has been here for a long time. In the 1990s, the displays in many fighter aircraft show some crucial information like altitude, direction, and speed and after a few years later, it could show targets in proximity.

In the last decade, various labs made devices that use augmented reality. In 2009, MIT Media Lab’s Fluid Interface’s group presented SixthSense, it combined the use of a camera, small projector, smartphone and mirror. It can be used to manipulate the images by the four sensor devices on the user’s fingers.

Google Glass came in 2013, converted AR into a more wearable interface, glasses. It displays on the user’s lens screen via a small projector and responds to voice commands. It can show images and videos with sound on the screen.

Phones and Tablets are the main media to bring augmented reality into the world. Vito Technology’s Star Walk app allows a user to point their device’s camera at the sky and see the names of stars and planets superimposed on the image. Layar uses the smartphone’s GPS and its camera to collect information about the surroundings and displays information about nearby restaurants, stores and other exciting places.

Disney also came up with an AR compatible colouring book. In which you colour in a traditional manner and scan it through the application. It detects the character and makes it 3D live on the screen.

One of the most common ways AR is used is in mobile games. In 2016, Pokemon Go became a sensation with more than 100 million users. The goal was to capture the pocket monsters (augmented characters) locally and use them to battle in AR gyms. Other games like Ingress, Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Zombies, Run!, Jurassic World Alive, etc are some games that extensively use AR interface and adds a fun side to it.

After 2016, data has become affordable to all which drove the digital economy. This was a result of the Jio revolution that took birth in that year. India became the largest consumer of mobile data in the whole world which evidently led to the evolution of AR in India.

Researchers are also developing 3D holograms, which can interact with many people all at once. “While research in holography plays an important role in the development of futuristic displays and augmented reality devices, today we are working on many other applications, such as ultrathin and lightweight optical devices for cameras and satellites,” researcher Lei Wang, a doctoral student at the ANU Research School of Physics and Engineering, said in a statement.

The Gatwick Airport Passenger App helps to manage the traffic at the airport in real-time, Ikea Place App allows you to scan the place and design the space, Sephora allows customers to try makeup on their face digitally, Surgeons can plan procedures before making the first cut and of course, there are AR games to make it more fun.

Future of AR

AR will get a boost after the arrival of 5G. It will be easy to integrate and easier to use due to the faster speed and technological innovations.

Mobiles are not the only medium for AR. Researchers are also coming up with contact lenses that use AR and other wearable technology. The goal is to create a complete and natural immersion that might replace phones and tablets, we don’t know yet what the replacements can be.

AR can be the future of design, we hope it can be integrated into our lives without being intrusive. For example, Google Glass was called back as it could record and capture the surroundings that can lead to a privacy breach.

AR is rising rapidly in healthcare and education, as these industries are growing at a fast pace, it needs a constant update in technology. In healthcare, you can even plan a procedure before making the first cut. In education, you can teach a vast number of students one on one. This is what the current situation is like, you can expect more innovations with passing time.

Conclusion

While Virtual Reality takes you into new worlds, Augmented Reality seeks to add value to your current environments. It keeps you connected to what’s happening around you while augmenting what’s possible in entertainment, design, education, healthcare and beyond.

The technology is complex and challenging to work around. While the fun experiences such as AR stickers and games like Pokemon Go do well to acclimatise the masses with accessible AR, its true potential will be unleashed when productivity and teaching tools become mainstream using these technologies.