What is Augmented Reality and How Can You Apply it to Your Life

The possibility of having more than a singular reality in itself might sound bizarre, but the advent of augmented reality, virtual reality, even mixed reality, has changed the way we perceive the world.

Everyone knows of or has used Snapchat filters: a shining example of the use of augmented reality technology, where real life is interspersed with the virtual world.

What’s the difference between Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Mixed Reality (MR)?

Augmented reality (AR) adds graphics in the form of videos, pictures, music, and even maps, on top of our vision of the real or physical world, most commonly through the use of a camera on smartphones or other computing devices, thus enhancing or augmenting our vision of the real world.

Devices such as Google Glass and Magic Leap use augmented reality technology. Snapchat and Pokemon Go are also famous examples of augmented reality apps. In more recent times, Apple has developed some amazing AR solutions for iOS.

Virtual reality (VR) on the other hand shuts out the real-life or physical world completely, immersing one into the virtual world. VR devices such as HTC Vive, Oculus Rift or Google Cardboard are examples of VR technology.

VR headsets such as Google Cardboard, Oculus Rift, and HTC Vive offer an intuitive and immersive experience where the users’ vision is blocked by the VR headsets and the computer-generated simulated reality becomes the perceived reality.

While Oculus Rift and HTC Vive act as special VR viewers to view virtual or simulated reality and immerses the user while giving complete freedom of movement, others like Google Cardboard use VR apps on mobile devices thus not giving a complete immersion experience but allowing freedom of movement.

Mixed reality (MR) combines elements of both augmented reality and virtual reality, where the physical world and virtual world interact with each other offering a truly immersive experience. Microsoft HoloLens is the most notable device using mixed reality technology.

Types of Augmented Reality (AR)

Marker Based AR (also called Image Recognition or Recognition Based Augmented Reality) uses a camera in the AR device and some type of visual markers, such as a QR/2D code, to produce a result.

Markerless AR or location-based augmented reality is one of the most widely used AR technologies. This type of AR does not use a recognition system to provide virtual outputs on the screen.

It uses GPS, digital compass, velocity meter, or accelerometer embedded in the computing devices to provide data based on location.

Projection-based augmented reality works by projecting artificial light onto real-world surfaces and then sensing the human interaction (i.e. touch) of that projected light.

Laser plasma technology makes it possible to project three-dimensional interactive holograms mid-air and is just one of the use cases of AR technologies.

Superimposition-based augmented reality partially or fully replaces the original view of an object in the real world with a newly augmented view of that same object.

Object recognition plays a vital role in superimposition-based augmented reality applications, as the application cannot replace the original view with an augmented one if it cannot determine what the object is.

How Does Augmented Reality Technology Work?

Augmented reality applications merge the virtual world with the real world by visually depicting computer-generated graphics as part of real life.

Augmented reality apps enable the user to see both artificial, as well as natural light, and the user is aware of being in the real world.

AR apps use a wide variety of displays, such as screens, monitors, handheld devices, or glasses.

Heads up display such as Google Glass fits AR directly onto your face and the …

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Originally published at https://get.tech on February 14, 2020.