So what exactly is Augmented Reality?

One of the things we do at Moback is develop for Augmented Reality (also known as “Mixed Reality”). In my case it’s also something I do on my own for fun. For my first blog I figured I would explain some of the basics of AR — what it is, what type of AR devices are available, what you can do with it.

So what exactly is Augmented Reality? At its most basic, Augmented Reality is Virtual Reality that takes place in your actual room around you. Instead of a headset blocking out the real world to help you enter a virtual world, with AR virtual objects and characters come to life in the real world — holograms like in Star Wars, but better. With Augmented Reality, you can see whales floating above your desk, you can see a motorcycle standing in your office, you can see chess pieces battling it out on your coffee table. All created from light, visible through your phone or an AR headset, and viewable from any angle you want (since they are fully 3D objects).

What can you do with it? Sure it might be fun putting a virtual gorilla hanging off your shelf, but eventually you are going to want to use AR for something more than virtual toys. That’s actually one of the most difficult questions to answer when it comes to AR, because it’s such a new technology, but I’ll list a few uses for Augmented Reality. One potential use is to help prototype new objects — you can see how they will look in real life, get an idea of their actual size, see them from various angles without having to build a physical model. Some AR software then allows you to make some changes — change the color, alter the size, etc. Another use is for easy instructions on how to make or repair something — if you are looking at a complicated machine in real life, AR can put virtual arrows pointing exactly at what part you need to work with, show you which direction to turn things, show a 3D image of what it will look like when you are done, possibly overlaid on top of the part itself. This not only works for machines, but the medical industry is very excited about the possibilities for training doctors and helping them perform surgeries. Another potential use for AR is as a replacement for your computer, phone, or TV screen — create a virtual TV hanging on the wall, or spread your email, chat, and computer documents around the room, have them follow you as you visit someone else’s office.

AR is definitely a futuristic technology, but it is available today in a few different forms. The most simple: your phone. Both Android and iOS can run simple Augmented Reality apps, that uses your phone’s camera to display what’s in the room around you, and add things to it. You look at the screen and move the phone around to see virtual objects hidden around you. A step up from that are headsets that let you strap your phone in and use it as a 3D display for Augmented Reality — this way you move your head to look around you and see the virtual objects in your room, again using your phone’s camera to capture reality. A huge step up from that is a device called the ZED Mini, which is a stereo camera that you attach to a VR headset (Oculus Rift or HTC Vive). That camera captures the room around you in 3D and can sense the depth of everything in the room, but uses the VR headset as a display. This can create true 3D holograms that really look like they fit in with everything else in the room, and can cast realistic lights and shadows around the room.

Now we come to dedicated AR headsets — devices that let you truly see the room around you, looking through clear lenses, augmented with new things. First there are “tethered” devices, like the Meta 2 — these devices plug into your computer, taking full advantage of the power of your PC and GPU, but you can’t go wandering around the office or outside with them. Then there are are a few hybrid devices — like the Dreamworld DreamGlass, which can either plug into your computer, or into your phone, becoming portable. And finally, true stand-alone AR headsets, complete with their own computers, fully portable. The two biggest AR headsets in this category are the Microsoft HoloLens and the Magic Leap. HoloLens builds everything into a single headset, Magic Leap splits it up into a headset attached to a computer/power supply that hangs off of your belt, to make the headset lighter and more comfortable. Magic Leap is the newest AR device, having only been released on August 8, 2018, and as such it is more powerful than HoloLens, has a larger field of view (the area in which holograms can be seen), and can do a few more things. However, rumor has it that Microsoft will be releasing a follow-up to the HoloLens soon, so it’ll be interesting to see the two companies battle it out.

Augmented Reality is still in the early stages, but its technology and software are growing rapidly. Once the technology becomes small, comfortable, and affordable, it could become the next “smart phone”, becoming a part of our daily lives. I think that’s only a few years away.

This blog was written by Moback employee Josh Meeds.