Augmented Reality —Cooler Than Virtual Reality?
We have often heard about Virtual Reality (VR), which is enormously popular these days. It is a pretty cool technology that helps us see the world in another dimension, but are we forgetting something better than Virtual Reality? Then what is it? - My answer is Augmented Reality (AR).
I won’t say that Augmented Reality is better than Virtual Reality, but it is as cool as Virtual Reality. Although Both VR and AR are a part of immersive reality, they both have notable differences in their appearance and illustration.
In this article, We are just going to focus on augmented reality more than virtual reality. So, as predicted, what is augmented reality?
Introduction To Augmented Reality
In scientific terms, we define Augmented Reality as a real-time direct or indirect view of the physical real-world that have been enhanced by adding extra computational information. AR is both interactive and registered in 3D as well as combines real and virtual objects.
AR aims at simplifying the user’s life by bringing virtual information not only to his immediate surroundings but also to the indirect view of the real-world environment. It enhances the user’s perception or interaction with the real world digitally.
Augmented reality (AR) differs from Virtual Reality (VR) in the perception that in AR part of the surrounding environment is actually ‘real’ and just adding layers of virtual objects to the real environment. On the other hand, in VR, the surrounding environment is completely virtual. An illustration of how AR layers object onto the real world can be seen with augmented reality games.
Brief History
The first appearance of Augmented Reality dates back to the 1950s when Morton Heilig, a cinematographer, thought of cinema is an activity that would have the ability to draw the viewer to the onscreen by taking in all the attractive objects in addition to the dialouge.
In 1962, Heilig built the prototype of his vision described in Sensorama, which predated digital computing. In 1966, Ivan Sutherland invented the head-mounted display which became much popular in the 1970s. Sutherland was the first person to create an Augmented Reality system using an optical see-through head-mounted display.
In 1975, Myron Kuereger creates the Video Place, a room that allows the users to interact with virtual objects for the first time. Later, Boeing coined the phrase ‘Augmented Reality’ while helping workers assemble and locate the cables and wires of the aircraft.
Applications of Augmented Reality
Unlike VR, AR is of meaningful advantage in the medical as well as the retail industry. From operating MRI equipment to performing complex surgeries, AR helps to boost the depth and effectiveness of medical training in many areas. Students at the Cleveland Clinic at Case Western Reserve University, for example, will now learn anatomy utilizing an AR headset allowing them to delve into the human body in an interactive 3D format.
In today’s physical retail environment, shoppers are using their smartphones more than ever to compare prices or look up additional information on products they’re browsing. World-famous motorcycle brand Harley Davidson is one great instance of a brand making the most of this trend, by developing an AR app so that shoppers can use it in-store. Users can view a motorcycle they might be interested in buying in the showroom, and customize it using the app to see which colours and features they might like.
*It is important to keep in mind that the application is not limited to these 2 uses.*
In conclusion, Both AR and VR are necessary. AR is helpful to modify the present environment with digital objects and VR is able to create an entirely different digital environment.
“The key to creating impactful virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) experiences on the web lies in building a context, keeping it realistic, and focusing on the user experience’’ — Three experts from an Indian-based AR and VR startup said at Your Story’s Future of Work Summit.
TL;DR
Augmented Reality is a real-time direct or indirect view of physical real-world that have been enhanced or augmented by adding extra computational information.
The first appearance of Augmented Reality dates back to the 1950s to Morton Heilig.
Unlike VR, AR is of meaningful advantage in the medical as well as the retail industry.
Both AR and VR are necessary to further develop the digital environment.
Additional Resources:
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/augmented-reality.asp — Article
https://www.augment.com/ — Article
https://neilpatel.com/blog/augmented-reality-seo/ — Article
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/augmented-reality — Article
About Me:
Hi, I’m Aadin Zeeshan who is currently interested in the artificial intelligence field! I love to read, write, code and also write research papers. I am actively involved in school politics which I enjoy being the leader. Check my Instagram Page to know more about me and get in touch with me.
