AR is a real-time integration between digital data and the environment. It is not virtual reality, which creates a fake environment. AR allows users to see the real world, with generated information overlaid.
Augmented reality can be used for a variety of purposes, from entertainment to decision-making. It is able to combine digital components with three-dimensional elements ( 3D) to enhance the perception of an individual in their actual world. This is AR’s main benefit.
AR technology is used to deliver visual, audio, and other sensory information through smartphones, glasses or headsets. This creates an immersive, interwoven experience. Overlaid digital information can be used to change the perception of a user.
Thomas Caudell, an employee of Boeing Computer Services, Research and Technology, coined in 1990 the phrase augmented-reality to describe how the head-mounted display used by electricians for assembling wiring harnesses works. The yellow first down marker, which was introduced in 1998, was the first commercial application of augmented reality technology.
The AR technology has been adopted by many industries, including healthcare, public safety, gas and oil, tourism, marketing, and the media.
What does augmented reality mean?
Augmented reality can be delivered in many formats. AR contact lenses are being developed. These include smartphones, headsets, glasses and other devices.
Because AR requires a lot of computation, data processing can be moved to another device when the first is not powerful enough.
Marker-based AR applications are created with special 3D software. Developers can link digital data or animations to the computer program and an augmented reality marker in the real-world.
Markerless augmented reality can be more complicated. Because AR devices do not have a fixed focal point, they need to identify objects in the view. A recognition algorithm is used to determine nearby objects. The device’s onboard sensors can overlay images onto the surrounding environment.
Differences between AR & VR
Virtual Reality is an artificially created virtual environment. Users are shown this virtual world in order to suspend their disbelief long enough for them to accept it as real. Virtual Reality is primarily experienced through a headset which includes both sight and sound.
AR and VR have very distinct differences. AR overlays virtual information on an existing environment, while VR completely immerses the user into a rendered virtual environment.
The devices used to achieve AR are also quite different. Users wear VR headsets to view an audiovisual simulation. These devices include smartphones, glasses and projections.
Passthrough is used for spatial computer headsets such as Meta Quest 3 and Apple Vision Pro, which block the user’s view.
AR overlays data over the real world, while VR simulates an environment for the user.
Mixed-reality can be used interchangeably as a term for AR. Mixed reality refers to a virtual screen that overlays a real-world environment.
Top AR Use Cases
AR is useful for many purposes.
Retail. A retailer’s online app allows customers to see how their furniture will look in their home prior to purchasing.
Entertainment and gaming AR allows you to share your face in animated form on social media.
Navigation. Users can overlay their route to the destination on the live road view. Navigation with AR can display nearby business information.
Tools and measurement Mobile devices can use AR technology to measure points in 3D within the surrounding environment.
Architecture, art and AR AR allows artists to work on or visualize projects
Military. The vehicle’s windscreen displays data such as directions, distances, and weather conditions.
Archaeology. The application of AR to archaeological research allows archaeologists and museum visitors to experience the excavation site as if they were there themselves. Future archaeologists and museum visitors can have ‘first-hand’ experiences with excavation sites.
AR Examples
Examples of AR include:
Target app. Target app.
Apple Measure app. Measure is an Apple iOS measuring tape which allows the user to measure distances between up to two points.
Snapchat. Snapchat lets you overlay a filter or mask over a photo or video.
Pokemon Go. Pokemon Go utilizes GPS to locate Pokemon around it.
Google Glass. Google Glass, Google’s first commercially-available AR glasses system, was discontinued in 2023. The small wearable device allowed users to work without using their hands. Google Glass has been used by DHL and DB Schenker to help front-line workers manage global supply chain logistics.
U.S. Army Tactical Augmented Reality (TAR). U.S. Army AR can be found in the eyepiece called TAR, which is mounted to a soldier’s helmet and used to locate other soldiers.
Apple Vision Pro. Apple Vision Pro has AR, VR and mixed-reality features. The device offers live mapping, passthrough and projections, such as web browsers, that can be pinned at specific locations. Users are able to control their devices with gestures.
Meta Quest 3 Meta Qest 3 has similar features as Apple Vision Pro. The headset has features like passthrough, productivity and gestures.
Future AR Technology
The AR technology is growing as more apps and games, such as Pokemon Go or retail store AR apps, gain in popularity.
Apple’s open-source mobile augmented-reality toolkit, ARKit, is updated constantly. Companies like Ikea and Target use it in their AR apps for iPhone and iPad.
ARCore is constantly improving and evolving. ARCore uses a Geospatial api to pull data from Google Earth 3D models and Street View images on Google Maps. ARCore’s Depth Api, similar to ARKit’s Depth App, has been optimized for deep sensing.
Improved AR, VR, and Mixed-Reality head-sets will also be released. Meta for example improved its Quest 2 headset with Meta Quest 3 in 2023. The new headset is slimmer, lighter, and more ergonomic than Quest 2.
Apple Vision Pro will be released in February 2024. Apple Vision Pro was released in February 2024.
AR can also be improved by:
Devices with higher power and lighter weight.
Artificial Intelligence is used to detect objects and faces, recognize text, and label objects.
The introduction of 5G could facilitate cloud-based AR, by allowing AR apps to run with higher data rates and lower latency.
Learn the differences between AR, VR and mixed reality technology.
