I have always been a person who viewed life as a source of challenge and exploration. Every opportunity and each problem was taken as a chance to improve and perform my best. I wasn’t like this always…. It happened as I grew up and realised that the recognition and approval of the people in the society which included my family and friends is always on the basis of being able to do something extraordinary.
I felt God has not been too kind to bestow an art or genius characters in me, then as a ordinary woman how to be extraordinary was an everlasting question in my mind. The search for an answer to the question somehow took me towards further exploring and performing everything that came my way in pursuit of being that unique who could do so many things at a time without losing my smile and positivity. I started getting words of appreciation from my family and seniors in the workplace. I realised that I have finally hit the jackpot, its very simple; Do everything that comes your way sincerely and with complete dedication.
I became a mother of two boys by the time I grew physically and mentally matured to start understanding the consequences of my success mantra. In this whole battle of doing he best of what comes your way I forgot MY WAY. I literally realised that I have not thought exactly what is the way I want my life to be. I was being driven madly around by the people who admired my sincerity and dedication. I actually forgot to tell myself in this whole journey that I am living MY LIFE and I wish to live it my way.
I was suddenly feeling a sense of victimisation of my attributes and being too polite and politically correct every time. When I got a chance to think ‘What do I really want’ the answer was very simple, I want to be first and foremost a good mother who can raise humble and responsible two human beings. I felt thats the most important responsibility God has casted on me and found me suitable to do my best. Then what am I being doing all this while? How am I being able to fulfill this duty by performing umpteen tasks of the day with that much devotion.
When I looked in the eyes of my kids all what I could see was it really didnt matter to them whether I was appreciated by everyone around or not, all what they cared for is my generous and clear smile when they came back home or when they need me around. Fulfilling so many tasks at hand and rejoicing in being applauded by all around, left me with no energy to actually live that moment of my true definition of LIFE
I felt that they dont want a Mom who could do it all with perfection, they wanted a mom who was just happy in doing what she loved to do.
Hi I’m Iva. I’m a second year computer science student from Bikaner Technical University and an aspiring web developer. I’ve always liked to experiment with colors and designs. I hope this helps me in my aim to build innovative websites .If you don’t see me coding ,you can find me curled up with a good book.
Hyper-Reality. What got me into AR and what made me stick to it. The concept of hyper-reality seemed so far and now? With recent developments in AR based technologies, it doesn’t anymore. Augmented reality (AR) is no longer science fiction—and it isn’t just for gamers. Offering an interactive experience in a real-life environment, the technology essentially adds to (or augments) your immediate surroundings with virtual elements. We’re already entering the era of spatial computing with launch of AR glasses. Google launched google glasses in 2013 but the product was a fail and Google stopped the project completely. Apple is now releasing Apple Vision Pro and claims to change the future of computing. Many other tech companies have tried their hands in technologies based on augmented reality.
Apple Vision Pro, launching next year starting at $3500
But let’s keep things real right now and take it one step at a time. Before we get into the whole hyper-reality thing, let’s focus on getting a good grasp of AR
what is AR?
Let me get technical for a minute and define what AR is
Augmented Reality is an interactive experience that enhances the real world with computer-generated perceptual information. Using software, apps and hardware such as AR glasses, augmented reality overlays digital content onto real-life environments and objects. This enriches the user experience and turns one’s immediate surroundings into an interactive learning environment. -sap.com
T hat must’ve sounded boring. Try to think about it this way, AR puts virtual objects in your real-life surrounding. AR tries to make your real-world interactive using virtual objects. These virtual objects are generally saved on the cloud. You wanna see a koala eating some leaves, try searching koala on google and select the ‘view in your space’ option (I’ve tried it, it’s really cute). If you’ve ever used a street view service to get to know a neighborhood before you travel that also uses AR.
The updated version of the Street View app allows users to capture images using ARCore — the same AR technology Google uses for its own Live View orientation experiences in Maps, which helps phones “see” various landmarks to help users find their position.
how it works?
What is AR even doing? Just ‘putting’ a virtual object in our environment through our screens doesn’t sound that hard. Well let’s get to the bottom of it –
An AR-enabled device with a camera such as smart glasses, a tablet, or a smartphone parses a video feed to identify a physical object or the environment around the user, such as a piece of machinery or the layout of a warehouse.
A digital twin – a 3D digital replica of the object in the cloud – connects the real and virtual environments. It collects information from the physical object and digital
The augmented reality device then downloads information about the object from the cloud. It superimposes digital information over the object using markers or trackers like GPS, accelerometers, orientation and barometric sensors, and more. This creates a part-real, part-digital 3D interface.
Thanks to real-time data flowing from products, the user can interact with the object or environment by moving around and sending commands to the cloud through a touchscreen, by voice, or with gestures.
N ow that was a whole lot of tech terms again. To make things simple, AR is not just putting an object, it is blending it.
AR in the backend uses various different technologies to detect its surroundings so that the virtual object blends seamlessly.
AR can be primarily categorized into marker-based AR and markerless AR . Marker-based AR leans on a visual marker to activate interactive experience. The most common markers used are two-dimensional QR codes. Markerless augmented reality doesn’t require image recognition to produce visual effects. Instead, the technology uses a device’s camera, location software, and accelerometer to detect positional information, including the orientation of different objects and the space between them.
AR in different fields
The use of AR extends far beyond simply seeing cute animals in our room. Today, AR is extensively employed in various major fields, and its applications continue to grow. AR plays a significant role in areas such as healthcare, entertainment, architecture, retail, manufacturing, design, and modeling, as well as in classroom education and many other areas. Just because this technology seems advanced doesn’t mean we haven’t already experienced it. Have you ever tried those goofy filters with your friends on Snapchat? Maybe even tried to visualize how a new couch would look against the background wall before buying it? All of that is AR. You remember Pokemon Go? It was a game released in 2016 and became a part of many controversies. It worked primarily on AR where you find a pokemon(blended virtually in your surroundings) and walk right upto it to catch it. Many countries limited use of this game and some just outright banned it.
impact
There is no doubt that we are entering a new era, and technologies such as Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Mixed Reality (MR) will serve as its cornerstone. The utilization of AR has witnessed significant growth across various industries. Projections indicate that the healthcare industry alone will contribute over $5 billion in revenue through the implementation of augmented and virtual reality by the year 2025. A recent study reveals that a 84% of global consumers would want to use augmented reality in their travel experiences.
Augmented reality brings with it a number of positive impact on individuals and society as a whole. It improves the way we learn and retain information, enhance our ability to communicate and collaborate with others and provide us with new and innovative ways to interact with our environment.
Though these technologies sound like they’re meant to improve the way we communicate and bring people closer, to me it seems they’ll end up doing the opposite. Did smart phones bring us closer? Maybe in some ways yes, but the more widespread their use became, the more people engage with it. That seems to be the future with AR. Once these devices are widely used , people might lose interest in the actual reality.
hyperreality
I started this post with hyperreality. If I were to explain this term in one line, I would say this: “A world where the simulation of reality seems more real than reality itself.” Now, when I talk about hyper-reality, I don’t want you to think that I support it; rather, I’m afraid of it. Keiichi Matsuda produced a small concept film on hyperreality, which shows a world where physical and virtual realities have merged. This film managed to portray the future and what it brings in only 6 minutes. With technologies making exponential progress we are not far from a post-modern world with each individual lost in their own virtual realities.
I now cannot imagine a time without mobiles and computers, Netflix and Instagram but I know there was a time they didn’t exist. The current reality seems to be the world on the internet and soon enough eXtended reality is going to be our new reality.
“A life worth being inspired by, is a life better lived”
How many times have we heard these lines from the people who are close to us and want us to succeed and be happy in our lives. But every time they may not be able to convince us of how to do it. So we actually know the ‘what’ element of our destination but the ‘how’ element always remains enigmatic and baffling.
Why does it happen that the advice that we receive from the people around for the means of living a good life sounds very good but the moment we think of applying, it seems so unconvincing and impractical even if that same thing was like a magic wand for the one who has inspired us.
Somewhere it may be understood that “how to live a better life” cannot be a standardized question to be answered, its like a personalized thought to be developed to get the exact answer. People use various means to identify and satisfy their urge to define their ideal good life. Some take to religious path, some start believing in spirituality, some are hedonist and for some it is just the destiny’s choice. We really have to understand the right means of living a good life for everyone has to be derived from within everyone’s soul. No exact definition provided by anybody, even by highly intellectual or enlightened will apply to an individual’s unique existence. So to get the answer to this we have to look within and search rather than be guided by others or even try and imitate others. Trying to get an answer to the question is an exercise which may require a lot of patience and perseverance but whatever answer that comes up will be the eternal truth for that individual.
The eternal truth lies in our very existence that we are a powerful soul born with our wisdom and guided by our conscience who if left free to live his/her way will be the most happy and contended one. If we start accepting this for ourselves and for all around we can assume and remain assured of a very peaceful coexistence. The whole gamut of power, supremacy, jealousy, and discrimination will vanish and each of us will be happy to come across an equally powerful soul guided by a clear purpose and living with true conviction.
I overheard my son talking to his friends that day, he was discussing about his teachers. Ah, he was not discussing, actually he was judging his teachers. They were carefully evaluating their teaching style, language being used, dresses being worn and even the hairstyle and choice of shoes was examined with deep critical remarks.
I felt strange that boys half the age of the teacher are finding themselves competent to judge and pass remarks about a person who has spent so many years teaching the subject and topic.
Some questions loomed large in my head:
Are we as a society becoming too judgemental after getting too many platforms to air our views to the world around.
Are we use our communication skills majority times to either justify ourselves or judge others.
Are we being over obsessesed by the definition of being perfect creations and developing perfect creations around us
The answer lies in the whole philosophy of our upbringing, we are being brought up in the environment where we are groomed for a certain behaviour patterns which are duly approved by the people around us and have felt under the scanned eyes of our elders who passed their judgements about us for every act we performed and made us realise that as we grow up we get the legitimate power to pass remarks and correct others behaviour.
Fear of non acceptance, rejection and being laughed out has ingrained deep in our psyche and we keep living our lives by rediculing others which somehow provides a sense of self acceptance as being better than others and we feel secured and elated.
One fine day just out of curiosity I happened to ask my recently turned to be a teenage boy, “What do you wish to be”. This was a question I always wanted to ask but my overly read wisdom prohibited me to push my son towards a goal and I wish to be a parent who wants to let their kids take their life’s decision themselves. But to my utter surprise, I saw a beautiful smile on the face of my son, as if he was so eagerly waiting for me to ask this from him. But his smile faded in few seconds and he just shrugged off by saying, “I don’t know”.
I pushed him a bit but he further replied, “You tell me the options to choose from”. I said there are many options, you decide what will you like to do all your life, in fact I got worried the moment I left it open for him, as he may easily reply to just rest and relax all through the life, but even if he wished that he merely said again, “I don’t know”.
I tried to recollect my own observations regarding him as a child and I realised that he is amazingly patient, obedient and responsible (all traits are unlike his generation).
Do these qualify for a career option? What else do we need to make our lives better? Are we merely looking for skilled people or do we need people with the right attitude?
