"What is Augmented Reality" Some Reasons to Embrace
A Guide to Understanding "What is Augmented Reality"
An interactive experience known as what is augmented reality (AR) combines computer-generated three-dimensional content with the actual environment. Numerous sensory modalities, such as visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory, and olfactory, can be used to display the content.Technology known as augmented reality (AR) blends the physical and virtual realms, permits real-time communication, and precisely registers virtual and real objects.It is possible for the superimposed sensory data to be damaging (i.e., hiding the natural environment) or helpful (i.e., complementing the natural environment). It is therefore a crucial technology on the continuum between reality and virtuality
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This experience is intricately blended with the physical realm, making it seem like a part of the actual surroundings. Thus, augmented reality changes how a person experiences the real world, while virtual reality entirely substitutes the user's actual surroundings with a virtual one.
Augmented reality is often used interchangeably with mixed
reality. It also shares some words with extended reality and computer-mediated
reality.
The main benefit of augmented reality lies in how it seamlessly integrates digital elements into our real-world experiences, rather than just presenting information as it is.
This is achieved through the incorporation of immersive feelings that are seen as part of the environment. The first practical augmented reality systems that offered these immersive mixed reality experiences emerged in the early 1990s, beginning with the Virtual Fixtures system created at the U.S. Air Force's Armstrong Laboratory in 1992.The first commercial augmented reality experiences were launched in the entertainment and gaming sectors. After that, augmented reality technology has been applied across various business sectors including education, communications, healthcare, and entertainment. In the educational field, content can be accessed by scanning or viewing an image with a mobile device, or by utilizing markerless AR methods.
Augmented reality can be utilized to improve natural settings
or scenarios, providing enhanced sensory experiences. Through sophisticated
augmented reality technologies (such as integrating computer vision, embedding
AR cameras in mobile apps, and identifying objects), the user's immediate
environment becomes interactive and digitally altered. This technology overlays
digital information on the physical world, which can be virtual. Augmented
Reality refers to any experience that is artificial and enhances the existing
reality. This can be tangible, like overlaying real-world sensed or measured
data, such as electromagnetic radio waves, precisely where they are in space.
Augmented Reality also holds significant potential in the collection and
dissemination of tacit knowledge. Augmentation techniques are usually carried
out in real-time and within semantic contexts involving environmental elements.
Immersive sensory information is sometimes merged with additional data, such as
scores from a live video stream of a sports event. This merges the advantages
of both augmented reality technology and heads-up display technology.
What Are the Benefits of Usinguses
Augmented reality has been investigated for various purposes, such as gaming, healthcare, and entertainment. It has also been looked into for educational and commercial purposes.
The following are some of the primary fields where augmented reality has been applied: archaeology, architecture, commerce, and education. Among the earliest documented uses of augmented reality are its application in surgery to offer virtual overlays that assist medical professionals, and the creation of augmented reality content for astronomy and welding.
Education and Training
In educational environments, Augmented Reality (AR) has been employed to enhance traditional curricula. This technology allows for the integration of text, images, videos, and sound directly into a student's immediate surroundings. Educational materials like textbooks, flashcards, and other reading content may include embedded cues or triggers. When these cues are detected by an AR device, they trigger additional information to be displayed to the student in a multimedia format. The 2015 Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality: 7th International Conference highlighted Google Glass as an instance of augmented reality that could potentially replace conventional classroom settings. Initially, AR technologies enable students to engage in genuine exploration of the real world, with virtual elements such as texts, videos, and images serving as aids for investigating the physical environment.
As AR technology progresses, it offers students the opportunity to actively participate and engage with knowledge in a more authentic way. Rather than being passive recipients, students can become active participants in their learning journey, interacting with their educational surroundings. Through computer-generated simulations of historical events, students can delve into the details of significant locations related to those events.
In the realm of higher education, 3d printed building, a system designed for student study spaces, facilitates the learning of mechanical engineering, mathematics, or geometry. Chemistry applications for AR enable students to visualize and manipulate the spatial arrangement of molecules using a marker object in their hand. Additionally, some have utilized HP Reveal, a free application, to create Augmented Reality study cards for organic chemistry processes or to simulate the use of laboratory equipment. Anatomy students benefit from the ability to view various body systems in three dimensions. The use of AR in anatomy education has been shown to enhance student understanding, increase engagement, and foster a deeper immersion in the learning process.
AR technology has also been applied in the development of
safety training applications for various disasters, including earthquakes and
building fires. Moreover, numerous AR solutions have been developed and tested
to guide individuals to safe locations during both large-scale and small-scale
emergencies. Furthermore, AR applications can integrate with other digital
technologies such as Building Information Modeling (BIM), Internet of Things
(IoT), and artificial intelligence, to create more intelligent safety training
and navigation solutions.
Archaeology
Augmented Reality (AR) has been a valuable tool in archaeological studies. By overlaying archaeological elements onto the contemporary environment, AR enables researchers to speculate on potential layouts of sites based on existing structures. Digital 3D models of ruins, buildings, landscapes, or even ancient individuals have been repurposed for early archaeological AR projects. For instance, a system like VITA (Visual Interaction Tool for Archaeology) allows users to virtually explore and examine the outcomes of excavations from the comfort of their homes. Users can work together by jointly "navigating, searching, and viewing data". Hrvoje Benko, a computer science professor at Columbia University, highlights that these specific systems and others similar to them can offer "3D panoramic views and 3D models of the site at various excavation phases" while organizing the data in a way that is accessible and collaborative. These collaborative AR systems offer multimodal interactions that blend the real world with virtual representations of both environments.
Architecture
Augmented reality (AR) can assist in creating visual representations of construction projects. By using computer-generated images, a structure's design can be overlaid onto an actual view of a property before it's built; this concept was showcased by Trimble Navigation in 2004. AR can also be utilized in an architect's studio, allowing for the creation of dynamic 3D models from 2D sketches. It can make architectural exploration more engaging with AR apps, enabling users to virtually see through a building's walls, explore its interior layout, and view its contents.
As GPS technology continues to improve, businesses can leverage AR to visualize detailed models of construction sites, underground infrastructure, and utility systems on mobile devices. AR is being used to showcase new developments, address challenges during construction, and improve marketing materials. For instance, the Daqri Smart Helmet, an Android-enabled hard hat, offers augmented reality features for industrial workers, including step-by-step instructions, real-time notifications, and 3D navigation.
After the Christchurch earthquake, the University of
Canterbury introduced CityViewAR,[138] a tool that allowed city planners and
engineers to visualize buildings that had been destroyed. This not only
provided a reference for the previous urban landscape but also served as a
poignant reminder of the extensive damage, with entire buildings being reduced
to rubble.
Industrial manufacturing
Augmented Reality (AR) is employed to replace traditional paper guides with digital overlays that are projected onto the operator's immediate surroundings, thereby minimizing the cognitive strain associated with operating machinery. This technology enhances the efficiency of machinery upkeep by providing direct access to a machine's maintenance records. Digital guides also facilitate the adaptation of manufacturing processes to swiftly evolving product designs, as they are more easily modified and shared digitally compared to their physical counterparts.
Digital guides also enhance safety for operators by eliminating the necessity to divert their attention to screens or manuals while operating, which can pose risks. Instead, the guidance is projected directly onto the work area. The adoption of AR can boost the sense of security among operators when dealing with heavy machinery by offering them extra information about the machine's condition, its safety features, and potential danger zones within the workspace.
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Visual art
Australian new media artist Jeffrey Shaw was at the forefront of Augmented Reality, with his groundbreaking works Viewpoint (1975), Virtual Sculptures (1987), and The Golden Calf (1993). He continues to push the boundaries of AR in his recent creations.
The museum has even developed its own app, MoMAR Gallery, to enhance the AR experience in a specialized gallery, revealing hidden details and allowing for interactive engagement with the art.
AR technology has also been utilized in the creation of public art, such as Nancy Baker Cahill's "Margin of Error" and "Revolutions," which were part of the 2019 Desert X exhibition.
Furthermore, AR has contributed to the advancement of eye tracking technology, which translates the eye movements of individuals with disabilities into digital art on screens.
Danish artist Olafur Eliasson has incorporated elements like burning suns, extraterrestrial rocks, and endangered animals into AR-enhanced environments.
Martin & Muñoz have embraced AR technology in 2020 to develop virtual art pieces, which are now being showcased in their exhibitions and within the user's surroundings. Their initial AR project was displayed at the Cervantes Institute in New York in early 2022.
Military
In the early days of AR, Rockwell International developed a unique application by overlaying satellite and orbital debris tracks on video maps to assist in observing space. This innovation was highlighted in their 1993 publication, "Debris Correlation Using the Rockwell WorldView System," where they detailed how these overlays helped in tracking the paths of various objects in space. This feature enabled operators of space surveillance telescopes to pinpoint satellites and also to identify and document potentially hazardous space debris.
By 2003, the US Army began incorporating the SmartCam3D augmented reality system into the Shadow Unmanned Aerial System. This integration aimed to support sensor operators using telescopic cameras in locating individuals or specific locations. The system merged live video with fixed geographic data, including street names, points of interest, airports, and railroads, offering a "picture in picture" mode. This mode was designed to overcome the challenge of narrow field of view, ensuring important context was not missed, akin to looking through a soda straw. It featured real-time location markers for friends, foes, or neutrals, along with live video, enhancing the operator's awareness of the situation.
A study by researchers at USAF Research Lab (Calhoun, Draper, etc.) revealed a significant improvement in the rate at which UAV sensor operators identified points of interest, with a two-fold increase, thanks to this technology. This enhancement in maintaining geographic awareness significantly improved the efficiency of missions. The system is currently in use on the US Army's RQ-7 Shadow and MQ-1C Gray Eagle Unmanned Aerial Systems.
In the realm of combat, AR has emerged as a powerful networked communication tool that projects essential battlefield information directly onto a soldier's goggles in real-time. This technology allows for the marking of individuals and objects with special indicators to alert soldiers of potential threats. Additionally, virtual maps and 360° view camera imagery are displayed to assist soldiers in navigation and understanding their battlefield surroundings, which can be shared with military commanders at a remote command center. This technology has also been applied to create circular review systems on combat vehicles and tanks.
AR has proven to be a valuable asset in virtually mapping the 3D structures of munition storage areas on the ground, as well as visualizing the arrangement of munitions in stacks and the distances between them, highlighting risk areas. Furthermore, AR has been used to visualize data from sensors embedded in munitions, further expanding its applications.
Navigation
The NASA X-38 was operated with a mixed synthetic vision system that combined map data with video to improve the spacecraft's navigation during its flight tests from 1998 to 2002. This system utilized the LandForm software, which proved beneficial during periods of reduced visibility, such as when the video camera's view became obscured, forcing the astronauts to depend on the map overlays. The LandForm software was also tested at the Army Yuma Proving Ground in 1999. The image on the right shows the map markers for runways, air traffic control tower, taxiways, and hangars, all superimposed on the video.
Augmented Reality (AR) can enhance the functionality of
navigation tools. It can project information on a car's windshield, such as
directions, speedometer, weather, road conditions, traffic updates, and
warnings about potential dangers ahead. Since 2012, a company based in
Switzerland called WayRay has been working on holographic AR navigation
systems. These systems use holographic optical elements to project all
necessary information, including directions, alerts, and points of interest,
directly into the driver's view and well in advance of the vehicle. On ships,
AR can enable bridge watch-standers to keep an eye on critical data like the
ship's direction and speed while moving around the bridge or engaging in other
activities.
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