Augmented reality - elementary

AR – what is it?

Augmented Reality (AR) by definition is a system that combine real world with computer-generated elements. That means while using AR technology you see your surroundings enriched in new elements or information, which are not there. The best thing is that AR is available for everyone. You do not need a special glasses to use AR(this is one of the differences between AR and VR), although it is one of the options. Nowadays even simple smartphone can be your door for using augmented reality.

Technology

There are two basic thing that are needed for using augmented reality. These are:

• Hardware – these includes processors, sensors, input and all kind of display devices. That means all physical parts that are needed to register surroundings and present objects onto it (like smartphone).
• Software – this is a non-physical part of the process. Created in programmatic language software must derive real world coordinates, independent of camera, and camera images. Thanks to that we are able to place virtual object in the correct position.

A bit of history

Although the origin of AR is dated even in 1960s, year 1992 is assumed to be the year when AR was invented, it’s the time when the term was used for the first time. All because Tom Caudell, an employee at Boeing Computer Services Researchand and his co-worker David Mizell. They used a head-mounted display (HMD) to superimpose a computer-generated diagram of wires and cables .

Since then technology came a huge revolution and with all new inventions we come to the point we are today, with augmented reality that is a powerfull tool that can be used in many industries – from entertainment, through marketing, up to healthcare .

Here we encourage you to check out the benefits of implementing AR in e-commerce.

Why augmented reality is a future that happens today?

As mentioned above the power of augmented reality lies in its versatility. It can not only be applied to almost every industry, but also can provide information, which would take a long time to find if not AR. That helps professionals of any kind save time and resources and most importantly to get very precise information.

Which of the industries took the biggest advantage of using AR?

• Entertainment - everyone heard about Pokemon Go – it is a game that brought term “augmented reality” to almost every person in the world. Going to different places to find new creatures to the collection is nothing more than great example of use of the AR.
  
  Many kind of photo/video filters used in social media are also based on AR technology – that is how you can apply funny ears or take part in various quizzes.
• Education - find out what role does augmented reality play in the future of education?
• Aviation on-board instruments show pilots important data about the topography they see in front of them.
• Beauty/Fashion – virtual fitting rooms that can show how shirt or dress might look on you are more and more popular. Also virtual beauty room let you test cosmetics to find best make up for you.
• Sales – buying became so much easier since we have the possibility to see how a product will look like in our interiors - evertything thanks to 3D visualisations. Also just a possibility to take a look from every angle make people more likely to purchase. Read more about how to increase sales with augmented reality.

If you want to see what the use of AR looks like in practice, test our 3D configurator. We invite you!