Augmented Reality: The Technology Behind

Augmented Reality: The Technology Behind: Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality are the two most talked about terms nowadays & also the most popular ones. In the previous articles we have already taken you all in the depth technologies involved with the Virtual reality, now lets talk about the AR. So, what is the first thing that gets into your mind when the term Augmented Reality is said? Anything greater in size or any bigger thing or object that is visually seen through any device.

Augmented Reality: The Technology Behind:

Augmented Reality is a technology enriching the real world with digital information & media like 3D models & videos, overlaying in real time the camera view of your smartphone, PC & Connected Glasses. Augmented Reality turns the environment around us into a digital interface by placing virtual objects in the real world & in a real time.

The Definition:

AR is a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented or supplemented by computer-generated sensory input. These inputs may be either Sound, Video, any type of graphics or any GPS data. More generally related concept called as mediated reality is close to the AR. In which the reality view is modified by a computer system. Augmentation is conventionally in real-time & in semantic context with environmental elements.

The Technology Behind AR:

The technology of AR functions by enhancing one’s current perception of reality. Basic hardware components that are included in an Augmented Reality are Processor, Display, Sensors & Some input devices as mentioned above also. Although now smartphones & tablets also contain these elements including a camera & MEMS sensors.

The display for an AR includes various technologies including Optical Projection Systems, Monitors, Hand Held Devices & Display systems that can be worn on our body. These devices that we can wear on our body include following:

• Head Mounted Display: It is a display that can be paired with a forehead like harness or helmet.
• Eyeglasses: These displays can be rendered on devices resembling eyeglasses.
• HUD: They can also be like a Headset computer or portable head-up displays showing data, images & information while a user views the real world.
• Contact Lenses: These are in development phase & may contain such elements for display.
• Virtual Retinal Display: A VRD is a personal Display device which is currently being developed in the University of Washington at Human Interface Technology Laboratory. In it, a display is canned directly onto the Edina of a viewer’s eye.
• Eye tap: It is also known by the name Generation 2 Glass that captures rays of light that would otherwise pass through the center of a lens of an eye of the wearer & substitutes synthetic computer controlled light for each ray of real light.
• Handheld: These displays employ a small display that fits in a user’s hand.
• Spatial: Spatial AR i.e. SAR augments real-world objects & scenes without the use of special displays like monitors, HMD’s or Handheld devices. It makes use of digital projectors to display graphical information onto the physical objects.

Tools Of Augmented Reality:

• Augmented Reality 3D Viewers: They allow the users to place life-sized 3D models in your environment with or without the use of trackers. These trackers are simple images that the 3D models can be attached to in the Augmented Reality.

• Augmented Reality Browsers: These browsers enrich our camera display with contextual information. Through this, you can simply point at some building or monument to display its history or estimated value.

• Augmented Gaming Experience: You can create immersive gaming experiences that utilize the actual local surroundings. We jus have to imagine like some shooting games with zombies walking in our own bedroom.

Future Of Augmented Reality:

As Augmented Reality has several applications in our day to day life it is going to become an integral part of our system. It was also first used for military, industrial & medical applications & its use got expanded into entertainment & other commercial industries by the year 2012. By the year 2016, some powerful mobile devices also allowed AR to become a useful learning Aid even in primary schools.

Augmented Reality technology enhanced remote collaboration, thus allowing students & instructors in different localities to interact among themselves while sharing a common virtual learning environment consisting of virtual objects & learning materials.