AUGMENTED REALITY

MARY LOU JESPEN , THE FAMOUS INVENTOR IN THE FIELDS OF DISPLAY ,

IMAGING AND COMPUTER HARDWARE WAS ONCE QUOTED SAYING ,“ I FEEL
IN LOVE WITH HOLOGRAPHY, WHICH IS THAT YOU DON’T HAVE TO WEAR
ANYTHING OR CARRY ANYTHING. IT IS AUGMENTED REALITY IF YOU WILL.”

IN VERY SIMPLE WORDS AUGMENTED REALITY IS A TECHNOLOGY THAT

LAYERS INTERACTIVE VIRTUAL ENHANCEMENTS ATOP AN EXISTING
REALITY. IN AUGMENTED REALITY OR OFTEN ABBREVIATED AS (AR)
OBJECTS WHICH ARE REAL WORLD RESIDENT ARE AUGMENTED BY
E-GENERATED PERCEPTUAL INFORMATIONS INFLUENCING ACROSS
SENSORY MODALITIES INCLUDING VISUAL, AUDITORY,HAPTIC,
SOMATOSENSORY AND OLFACTORY.

AUGMENTED REALITY IS OFTEN CONFUSED WITH VIRUAL REALITY . VIRTUAL

REALITY IS AN IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE THAT COMPLETELY SHUTS OUT THE
PHYSICAL WORLD IN A PERSON’S EYES. USING VR DEVICES USERS CAN BE
TRANSPORTED TO A NUMBER OF REAL AND IMAGINATIVE ENVIRONMENTS
SUCH AS ON THE BACK OF A DRAGON . POPULAR VR DEVICES ARE HTC
VIBE , GOOGLE CARDBOARD SO ON AND SO FORTH.THE BASIC DISTICTION
BETWEEN VIRTUAL REALITY AND AUGMENTED REALITY IS THAT
AUGMENTED REALITY DOESN’T SHUT THE REAL WORLD VIEW COMPLETELY,
INSTEAD IT ADDS SOME DIGITAL ELEMENTS TO A LIVE VIEW OFTEN Y BY
USING THE CAMERA ON A SMARTPHONE. COMMON INSTANCES OF
AUGMENTED REALITY EXPERIENCES INCLUDE SNAPCHAT LENSES AND THE
GAME POKEMON GO.IN A MIXED REALITY EXPERIENCE , WHICH COMBINES
BOTH AUGMENTED AND VIRTUAL REALITY, REAL WORLD AND DIGITAL
OBJECTS INTERACT. MIXED REALITY TECHNOLOGY IS JUST NOW
BEGINNING ITS STEP FORWARD
TAKING OFF WITH MICROSOFT’S HOLOLENS ONE OFTHE MOST NOTABLE
EARLY MIXED REALITY APPARATUSES.

A FEW YEARS AGO, ALAN BRANDON ASKED THE FOLLOWING QUESTION IN

AN ARTICLE ABOUT AN AUGMENTED REALITY RESEARCH PROJECT (AMAR)
AT THE COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: IS AUGMENTED REALITY THE FUTURE OF
TECHNICAL DOCUMENTATION? HE DID NOT ANSWER THE QUESTION
REALLY BUT HE CHOSE TO DESCRIBE THE HUGE POTENTIAL OF THIS
TECHNOLOGY.

COMPONENTS OF AUGMENTED REALITY INCLUDE

~A SENSOR TO CAPTURE REALITY
~3D DATA ABOUT THE CONTENT TO BE RECOGNISED
~DISPLAY TO SHOW CAPTURED AND OVERLAID (AUGMENTED) CONTENT ,
SUCH AS A SMARTPHONE, TABLET, GOGGLES, HEAD MOUNTED DISPLAY.
~COMPONENT(S) TO INTERACT WITH AR APPLICATION- TOUCH SCREEN OR
MICROPHONE.~THE AUGMENTED CONTENT(3D DATA ,2D DATA, TEXT ,
AUDIO)
~APPLICATION TO FEED CONTENT TO AR CLIENT APPLICATION

THE ABOVE MENTIONED AMAR PROJECT AT THE COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

HAD IMPLEMENTED A PROTOTYPE TO ALLOW A SERVICE TECHNICIAN TO
EXECUTE A REPAIR GUIDED BY AUGMENTED INFORMATION. THE GOGGLES
OF THE TECHNICIAN SHOWS HIM THE REAL WORLD AND THE AUGMENTED
CONTENT ADDITIONAL TO IT . THE AUGMENTED CONTENT DIRECTS HIM TO
THE CORRECT POSITION, TO USE THE CORRECT TOOLS AND TO EXECUTE
THE NECESSARY STEPS IN THE RIGHT ORDER WITHOUT BEING

DISTRACTEDBY CONSUMING AND INTERPRETING “CLASSICAL” TECHNICAL

DOCUMENTATION. MANY VARIATIONS WITH OTHER DISPLAY DEVICES HAVE
BEEN BUILT BUT THEY FOLLOW MORE OR LESS THE SAME BASIC CONCEPT.

THE TECHNOLOGY OF AUGMENTED REALITY IS ON THE RISE THESE DAYS .

THE RETAIL STORE HAS DIPPED ITS TOE INTO THE REALMS OF AUGMENTED
REALITY. FOR INSTANCE IKEA USED AR SO THAT CUSTOMERS COULD SEE
HOW A COUCH WOULD LOOK IN THEIR LIVING ROOM, OR IF THAT COLOUR
RUG WOULD WORK WITH THEIR ROOM DESIGNS. AR HAS BEEN IN USE IN
NUMEROUS REALMS, NAMELY:
~TRAINING AND EDUCATION: AR TECHNOLOGY WILL BE MORE EFFECTIVE
THAN TRADITIONAL FORMS OF EDUCATION BECAUSE IT PROVIDES
STUDENTS WITH A HANDS ON EXPERIENCE RATHER THAN PURELY TEXTUAL
ONE.
~REPAIRS: AUGMENTED REALITY AIDD IN REPAIRS WHERE EVEN
INEXPERIENCED PEOPLE CAN FIX COMPLEX MACHINES.
~TOURS AND MAPS: AUGMENTED REALITY CAN ALSO ENABLE INFORMATIVE
AND INTERACTIVE TOURS.

~SOCIAL MESSAGING: AUGMENTED REALITY HAS ALSO GAINED

PREVALENCE IN THE REALM OF SOCIAL MESSAGING. APPS LIKE TADA
TIMES HAS ENABLED USERS TO TALK TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY LIKE
THEY’RE ACTUALLY THERE IN PERSON.
~SHOWCASING PRODUCTS: AUGMENTED REALITIES ALSO ENABLES ONE
TO SHOWCASE PRODUCTS. WITH AR, USER CAN INSPECT A PRODUCT
WITHOUT EVEN INSPECTING IT.

AUGMENTED REALITY TECHNOLOGY HAS A LOT TO OFFER OTHER

INDUSTRIES, NOT JUST ENTERTAINMENT. BY 2025 THE HEALTHCARE
REVENUE FROM AUGMENTED AND VIRTUAL REALITY IS ESTIMATED TO BE
NEARLY $5 BILLION. HEALTHCARE AND TRAVEL INDUSTRY IS PREDICTED
TO SEE MOST ADVANCEMENT IN THE FIELD OF AUGMENTED REALITY. AS
AUGMENTED REALITY CAPTURES OUR IMAGINATION LIKE NO OTHER
TECHNOLOGY CAN, IT WOULD NOT BE RESTRICTED TO MOVIE GRAPHICS
AND GAMING ANYMORE AND THROW ITS LIGHT BEYOND THE
ENTERTAINMENT WORLD AS WELL.