5 things of AR basics you need to know

Augmented reality is not sci-fi concept, but no one knows how much it will change our lives in future. However, we can prepare ourselves for the upcoming age and get known that technology better.

We found a few things that may help understand this futuristic concept, which is already conquering our reality. AR app development cost is pretty low, so everyone can try themselves in this fields.

AR is not VR

Differences between Augmented reality and Virtual reality are great. And those differences are really fundamental, because they determinate the way we can use those technologies.

Virtual reality generates fully the digital world around us. A simulated version of the world tries to imitate lifelike experience in different scenarios. Virtual world can be completed with common things like environment and people or change the fundamental law of our existence like gravity and perspective.

At the same time augmented reality merges a digital layer with real-world surroundings. It can enhance real things with digital information, add some computer generated objects or make common things interactive and manipulative.

So, differences are pretty big, as you see. Augmented reality doesn’t try to generate a new world around us, but improve the real one.

AR is older than you think

Taking a few steps back allows seeing the complete picture. Against all odds, the idea of augmented reality visited scientists long before it came to the attention of literature.

• The first concept of augmented reality comes to L. Frank Baum from 1901. He mentions an idea of using electronic displays in order to overlay additional data over the real world.
• The first released concept belongs to Ivan Sutherland in 1968 when he created the first HUD gear.
• Just in 1994 the concept of Augmented reality was used in Virtual Light, the novel by William Gibson.

Everything of that shows that the idea of Augmented reality existed long before people even had tools to realize it. Moreover, most people had no clue about such sort of technology until 2016 when Pokemon Go got on the front page of the world famous news sources.

However, evolution speed of hardware capabilities impresses and gives us a chance to see how Augmented reality dream of scientists of the past became true in the near future.

AR infiltrates in every bit of life

Despite AR is still a bit exotic and hardly meets quality and visual requirements of most people, it slowly enters our everyday lives. Unlike VR that tries to generate the digital world separated from the real one, AR connects a digital layer with real surroundings that open an incomparably wider range of uses.

• Pokemon Go has already changed the way people play games, so the game industry can take the lesson.
• IKEA Place is sick of the older IKEA AR App which proved large commercial benefits of using AR in commercial fields.
• AR was used for years in military HUDs for navigation and identification purpose and slowly expanded on the civilian market. Digital auto windshields and AR browsers help people navigate in unfamiliar places.
• Education uses Augmented reality potential in order to visualize complex concepts, provide more interactive learning process and add gaming elements to involve attention of pupils.
• In case of communication, holograms are still in development. But AR is already breaking bridges between foreigners providing a real-time Google Translate feature.

And you can find even more examples in different spheres of our life. AR is used in the art, medicine, engineering etc. Nowadays top augmented reality companies create truly amazing apps, making augmented reality an integral part of everyday life.

AR overcomes VR

According to expert researches in Digi-Capital and Zugara, the total investment into Augmented reality and technologies are incomparably higher than into VR. And the trends of the last few years show that their conclusion is close to the truth. In other words, the total expectations from Augmented reality are also high.

Surely, most experts recognize the leadership of VR in the gaming industry and in some practice learnings, but in other fields, AR overcomes VR in all ranges of attributes.

• AR is cheaper in development as it does not require to modulate the world around a user, but just those things you need.
• Lower hardware requirements of AR are connected to tag above. While you don’t create many objects — you don’t need a high-edge device.
• Augmented reality is more accessible to the user as often it doesn’t require special controllers. Most of AR apps freely run on modern smartphones.

In other words, with budgets, a range of uses and benefits, Augmented reality in the nearest future will show its superiority over Virtual reality.

We count on AR

And what is more important — augmented reality can enhance our lives and not just make shopping more comfortable or games more exciting. All that stuff is worth nothing in comparison with the new horizons that this technology opens.

• A search and rescue mission with the use of AR can save dozens of lives before, during, and after natural or technogenic disasters.
• AR helps to provide better education level to the next generation.
• Augmented reality helps in the deep sea and space exploration.

Final words

Augmented reality seems to be that kind of technology that is going to change completely our lives. Like Internet and smartphones did it before. Most opinions, both experts and consumers, are leaning to the thought that AR has only advantages.Or at least, it is hard to name any cons. Especially taking into an account that augmented reality can:

• improve the reality and do not replace it;
• enhance all aspects and spheres of life, from commerce, healthcare, etc to entertainment and sport;
• easy to use — every smartphone and tablet is a potential AR device;
• cheap to develop, unlike the “older brother” virtual reality.

Considering it, augmented reality will pretty fast become a part of everyday life. We all, as users, only will win from such situation.

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