If you participated in the Pokemon GO craze a couple years ago or use the occasional Snapchat filter, you have been using Augmented Reality. Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience where the objects that reside in the real-world are enhanced or overlayed by computer-generated content. The overlaid content can be added to the real-world environment or mask parts of it while enhancing the things we see, hear, and feel. It is seamlessly mixed in with the real-world giving the illusion that it is actually a part our environment.
Augmented Reality has been around since the 90’s, but just recently the technology has improved enough to enable more quality AR experiences. It’s still a new and emerging technology with a tremendous upside for innovation and growth.
Right now most AR experiences are done on mobile devices, but with headsets like the Microsoft Hololens 2 and Magic Leap 1, we are able to get a glimpse at what the future of AR will look like. Apple has been working on creating AR glasses for the last several years and the company stands firmly behind the potential of AR. These glasses are rumored to be released in late 2020. CEO of Apple Tim Cook stated "AR has the ability to amplify human performance instead of isolating humans. So I am a huge, huge believer in AR. We put a lot of energy on AR. We're moving very fast." Needless to say, augmented reality is going to be a part of the average person’s everyday life in just a matter of time.
First things first, augmented reality is different from virtual reality when it comes to the mixed reality continuum. This continuum or spectrum contains everything between pure augmented reality and pure virtual reality experiences. Augmented reality simply displays digital content such as 3D objects into your physical world, while virtual reality provides a fully immersive experience into digital world. What's so cool about AR is the fact that it can enhance your own reality whether it be adding productivity, entertainment or assist you in your everyday life. You can have an AR experience simply on your phone unlike VR who needs a headset in order to block out your current environment. Augmented reality is believed to have the biggest potential for mass consumption.
Many people may think that augmented reality is a new technology that has been developed within the past decade, but it has actually been around for quite sometime. In 1957, an immersive experience was first achieved by a cinematographer called Morton Heilig. Heilig invented the Sensorama machine which delivered 3D motion picture, smell, vibrations, wind and sound to the viewer. These senses were not computer generated, but it was the first step in the direction of mixed reality.
After Heilig, quite a few researchers and scientists contributed to the mixed reality continuum, but it was not considered VR or AR because Jaron Lainer created the term "virtual reality" in 1989 and Thomas P Caudell of Boeing “augmented reality” in 1990. It wasn't until 1992 where the first functioning AR system was developed and that was by Louis Rosenberg at the USAF Armstrong’s Research Lab.
Today, we see many companies creating headsets for augmented reality, tons of apps on the App Store to download on your phone for a mobile device experience, and even a few glasses to provide a subtle AR experience without the clunkiness of a headset. Some of the industry leaders include:
Microsoft Hololens
HTC Vive
MagicLeap
Literally every tech giant is investing lots of money in the AR and VR industry, and it will soon be a part of our everyday lives. According to Statista, "the augmented and virtual reality market amounted to an forecast 16.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2019 and is expected to expand drastically in the coming years, with forecasts for 2023 eclipsing 160 billion U.S. dollars."
There are many types of augmented reality in how the technology works.
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