5 myths about augmented reality
Augmented reality (AR) is a concept we hear a lot about lately. Like a lot of buzzwords, we often pay little attention to its exact definition and that can lead us to have a completely wrong idea in mind when we hear about a new project using augmented reality. Don’t worry, it happens to the best of us!
To help you wrap your head around all of that, I thought about debunking a few myths about the subject.
1 | There is no clear definition for augmented reality
We hear the term AR used, wrongly or not, for a lot of different things and it’s quite easy to conclude that its definition is murky, which is plain wrong. Scientist Milgram and his colleague published a very eloquent definition for the term as early as 1994!
Here’s my interpretation of their figure illustrating the concept:
So, augmented reality (AR) is when virtual elements are added in the real environment. Note that AR doesn’t have to be visual, we can also augment sound, touch, smell and potentially even taste!
Virtual reality (VR) is when everything we see is virtual.
The term augmented virtuality is rarely used, it can be used for example when a surgeon sees a real patient remotely.
Mixed reality (MR or XR) is everything that is a mix of real and virtual. Microsoft chose to confuse everybody by using “mixed reality” to describe augmented reality with interactions in the real world like we can do with the HoloLens. In fact, that’s still augmented reality.
These definitions of the terms are important to make sure we’re all talking about the same thing.
2 | Virtual reality is when you have a headset and augmented reality is when you don’t
That’s a generalization we often hear. It’s also completely wrong.
We of course often use headsets to experience VR, but that’s not a requirement. Immersive domes allow VR experiences to happen without a headset for example. 360° videos that we view on our mobiles are also a type of virtual reality we can see without a headset.
We can have augmented reality without headsets or any kind of device with projections. We can also use mobile devices, like we do with our products at Time Passport or like we’ve seen with Pokemon Go! or Snapchat filters, to view reality though the screens of our mobiles where virtual elements are added.
Besides, augmented reality headsets, that allow hands free experiences, are becoming more and more available. Microsoft HoloLens already does this, Magic Leap One, coming soon, will do it as well. In fact, there are many many AR headsets available or coming soon! We often talk about augmented reality “glasses” instead of headsets. The term emphasizes the fact that we can actually see reality though them.
3 | Augmented reality, that’s in 2D
A number of augmented reality experiences for mobile were created a few years ago. In many cases, we could see pictures or text in 2D, in augmented reality, in the environment.
It was technically augmented reality. However, unfortunately, many got the idea at the moment that that was all augmented reality had to offer. Big mistake!
Today, augmented reality experiences are available in 3D, where you can walk around elements and look at them from many angles, that’s what we call the six degrees of freedom. We can even interact and trigger actions by clicking or even using hand gestures! It has really come a long way from what we saw in the first AR experiences!
4 | Augmented reality is an outdated technology
Once again, because we’ve been seing augmented reality experiences for a while, we sometimes think it’s bound to be outdated. However, the best is yet to come!
With new AR glasses coming, and people are even working on AR contact lenses, we will soon see experiences where the difference between real and virtual elements will be hard to tell!
By the way, the biggest tech companies are massively investing in those technologies right now. Moreover, software behind the experiences is in constant state of improvement.
5 | Some AR experiences are “perfect”
The tech behind augmented reality is evolving very quickly at the moment. There are a number of challenges to tackle before experiences are perfectly realistic.
One of the biggest challenges is managing what we call occlusions. It’s what causes virtual objects to appear over everything else we see in augmented reality.
Detecting the real environment to make sure the virtual elements are well anchored in it is also something the community is actively working on. Changes in lighting, slopes, etc. can make the elements appear to move.
Artificial intelligence and a number of sensors will be used to solve these problems to improve the realism of AR experiences.
But don’t let that discourage you! Great progress has been made already! I highly recommend you to try recently developed augmented reality experiences to get a feel of all the potential AR has to offer!
Do you have other AR myths to debunk?
