Augmented Reality

Author Name: Iva

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.

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 –

1. 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. 
2. 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
3. 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.  
4. 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.