Introduction:
Augmented Reality(AR) in a digital context is a blending of reality and digital environments to provide a digital adjustment to perceptions of the real world. Its interpretation can be quite wide to encompass any digital technology that allows the human senses to perceive additional information, but at least for the moment most applications involve providing sensory data in a more easily visually or aurally comprehendible manner. Some advances are being made with haptic feedback, through vibrations and other motions, but these are usually quite subtle, like phone alarms or joystick rumbles.
AR is distinct from Virtual Reality (VR) because it works around and with real world elements as well as the digital information. This allows AR to be a staged stepping stone or bridge across the gap between the real world tangibility and the digital only experience provided by VR generated by computer algorithms alone.
Due to its solid grounding in the real world the technology can be absorbed and utilised for functions in a very practical manner. Real world problems can often be best addressed by Augmented Reality. Often the individual applications can be very specific and simple, such as a digital display which lights up to allow reading in poor visibility. We are used to visual displays on many electronic devices and many of the advances are just allowing perception of these displays while maintaining a visual link to the world around us. Its real world applicability means that AR is growing and evolving along with many of the major other digital segments like Big Data, Wearable Computing and the Internet of Things where by the digital world and the human perception and interaction with the online environment is key. In these areas AR may well be used to provide a more filtered feed with only the most important information being brought to the user’s attention as required.
In the growing world of big data and the internet of things how people interface and use this data will become more and more important. Augmented Reality with tangible objects in the real world allowing a sense of grounded while interfacing with the digital will allow people a more comfortable and acceptable experience than a purely digital or virtual alone experience.
Augmented Reality has been more easily accepted by the general public because of the grounding in the real world and how it is often just another additional information layer on a real environment. This can be as simple as lines to show trajectories of objects too small for the naked eye on sports commentaries to complicated feedback systems for sports and health tracking devices that tell people their improvements and bio indicators on the fly while moving allowing individuals and medical personnel to monitor results.
Sensors and digital displays to allow golf players to improve their swing and putting. Integration software to allow fridges to order food for delivery automatically. People like the touch and feel to give feedback and functionality. No matter how virtual reality and digital environments become realistic the reality is that we as humans are physical beings with dietary and physical needs so will need the link to a physical world.
We can use sensors and displays to provide views of environments that are too dangerous or remote for humans to interact with directly such as space and in the deep sea or dangerous chemical environments.
The evolution of growth in Augmented Reality
From before computers were ever conceived to some extent Augmented Reality has being with humans. Whenever a new piece of technology has been used to provide additional information or support descriptions of events in the real world. This can be as simple as charcoal being used to draw visuals on a cave wall describing beasts and tactics to those that remain in the caves.
At every stage of technological evolution the next step, a merging of the familiar real world and the new as a gateway to the future of technology is always easier to take than a leap into the complete unknown.
Augmented Reality in the digital age means that this same familiar first and then incremental improvements are also very important. Technology that leaps too far into the unknown often drops people in the gap.
Starting in the 1960’s with the work of Ivan Sutherland and his concepts about the ‘ultimate display’ and the idea that even at that Visual Display Units of the time could be hooked to devices that would allow the user to effectively see through objects.
Hardware and software advances in computing during the 70s and 80s and early 90s allowed for more real-time processing of sensor and signal information which then could be relayed to display and output devices for human interpretation.
In the year 1992 term “Augmented Reality” was coined by researchers at Boeing to describe how Head Mounted Displays could be used to guide workers in complex wire bundle assembly.
In 1993, a prototype of an outdoor navigation system for visually impaired was developed.
In 1995 NaviCam the first handheld AR display was created.
In 1997, Ronald T. Azuma’s “A Survey of Augmented Reality” explored the uses of Augmented Reality in different industries
In 1999, the first mobile with integrated GPS was released.
In the early 2000s a number of advances in GPS devices, wireless communications and camera optics led to refinements in devices for AR applications
In 2016 Pokémon Go brought global focus to Augmented Reality Games
The internet of things is an example of how augmented reality is becoming the more accepted digital norm. Everyday objects are now pulling more and more people into the digital world. As the importance of peoples online lives increase this blending of the two AR technology and software is now taking human perception and abilities beyond the limits of physicality this is having a significant and growing impact on our everyday lives.
Where Virtual Reality is putting people into virtual worlds and trying to fool and cut off as much of the outside stimulus Augmented Reality is blending the digital world and the real world into something that humans can interact with and better understand in this dual environment. Using smartphones and other devices such as heads up displays, which in essence are displays at the users eye line constantly rather than having to look away at a separate screen, people can experience the world around them with a new layer of perception.
This additional information is not limited to traditional senses either. Other data can be ever more quickly processed by computing and presented to the user in a visual manner. Use of global positioning devices allows people to know where their destination is in relation to where they are now providing an enhanced sense of direction.
Some advances are allowing people to overcome some physical and mental problems. Projections of various phobias such as bugs or spiders can be displayed while the user is in a controlled manner during an everyday situation.
Several applications for this technology have already emerged. Among which includes architecture where the constructed building design can be seen completed or layered away within the actual environment that it is going to be situated in. Several tourist applications allow the layers of history to be stripped away from a modern street and displayed with how streets and ruins would have looked in the past.
Commercial products too have availed of the tangible nature with cloths being generated digitally o over lay displays allowing shoppers to see how a new dress would look and to change colour with a swipe for hair and makeup designs.
3D digital models of furniture and display stands can be placed in an environment to see how they fit in the space and with the existing décor. These models can then be manipulated and moved without the heavy lifting and time consumption.
Storybooks and learning tools can now be enhanced to give a more interactive experience without the cumbersome and costly physical requirements needed before. For example a QR code printed on a book cover or other visual queue can be picked up by an app on a smartphone or tablet and then animated digital forms of the characters can seem to emerge from the pages and engage in a more visual and engaging form of the story. Similar digital pop up books could be used to have 3d models of the solar system or animal skeletons be linked with classroom learning.
Due to the close link with the real world it means that the tangibility and tactile nature is still present to ground the user in the familiar.
Many location systems could be linked with satellite navigation like leading of the user to the nearest service required of that type. Before entering a number of reviews could be viewed and judged. Additional warnings about food allergies and preferences could be crossed checked to better prepare the user.
A virtual index card with personal information could be linked with facial recognition so that the embarrassment of forgetting an acquaintances name or vital information would be greatly reduced.
Augmented Reality’s role is growing as the line between the real world and the digital world blurs with peoples real world relevance moving into the digital online space at a rapid pace. In the internet of things if you are going to be ordering food and houses to be awaiting your arrival you are going to have to interface with these devices in a digital manner and quite often remotely. While there are many things that can be wholly automated certain decisions will probably require approval and monitoring without being too invasive.
In many areas Augmented Reality has become the norm and almost expected for example in the area of sports watching and analysis the score or best lap times are constantly being fed as an overlay on the action in a non-invasive manner . Angles of movement and ball tracking overlays allow watchers to see the action which would otherwise be practically impossible to follow.
Remotes for multiple devices could use device recognition and give you the relevant buttons and commands on a phone or tablet or other visual device reducing the need for physical moving parts and manual interfaces.
In the medical world the information from several imaging sources can be used together to enhance the view of how an injury or disease is affecting different types of tissue in the area surrounding it with minimal discomfort to the patient after imaging different medical specialists can discuss and manipulate the images for interpretation based on their own area of expertise.
In car displays now provide an augmented driving experience for the driver. In addition to the normal displays about petrol levels and speed indication projected onto widows to allow for information while maintaining a view through to the road ahead. Mounted cameras and sensors can allow drivers to see where they can park with an assortment of alerts and feedback to inform of proximity to obstructions. As the steering wheel is turned the projected path of the vehicle can be shown in real time to the driver.
With the almost ubiquitous presence of mobile smart phones, data pads and similar handheld devices multiple remote sensors and digital alerts can be processed and displayed in real time. Devices like baby monitors and motion cameras can provide constant reporting on locations as if you were present in the room.
Heads up displays allow users to examine a range of visual display options for Augmented Reality for example Microsoft HoloLens allows users to view holographic schematics for vehicles and devices on top of the physical object which could allow for better understanding and visualisation of a repair or assembly process.
Current trends and possibilities for Augmented Reality in the future.
Snapchats use of Augmented Reality and facial recognition software is allowing users to project various cartoon facial expressions and animations onto their own in real time and reacting to visual cues to change. It even allows people to temporally swap faces with someone else and overlay their facial expressions on each other.
Pokémon Go was possibly one of the first augmented reality games to really impact on mainstream users and media however several versions of this type of game had already existed with real world environments and locations being contested back and forth between real people in real places using digital battles to digitally tag and own these locations.
Interfaces have been constantly used along with digital sensors and services to give people real time tracking of packages and transport such as buses and airplanes but as this technology improves and the data is processed in an ever more immediate fashion alarms and other signals could be incorporated into devices to inform people of exactly when they need to leave to avoid having any delay or wait.
Linking into social media databases and personal emails will allow facial recognition to overlay personal details about new interviewees of friends and family in the most up to date manner.
Rapid diagnosis could be used to detect various diseases as subtle signs of infection that could not be seen with the naked eyes or normal senses could be used. Current AR devices allow doctors to quickly view previous measurements of tumours over current skin blemishes for quick and accurate comparisons of colour alterations or size differences.
Hardware in development to enhance human senses is already well progressed and in full use today. Changing otherwise imperceptible environmental factors into easy to understand visual information is currently the main use of Augmented Reality. Thermal imaging monitors and cameras or similar being used on evermore mobile equipment is a constant trend.
This is likely to continue as the parts are further digitised and accuracy is improved. Hand held displays and phone or tablet apps are now performing the functions of previously much larger and complex devices such as skin cancer checks but in the future these could possibly be reduced to display devices composing of just contact lenses or retina displays that project an image directly into the vision sensors of the retina.
Advances in the future could mean that blind people could receive an aural warning or in time a running commentary of the environment around them from a device interpreting feed from a camera and sonar device mounted on a harness.
Conclusion
If the brain itself is just processing electrical information supplied to it by its own remote senses it is not inconceivable that it could soon be processing signals from outer sources at even greater distances and in different environments directly.
The future of Augmented Reality is that the hardware and software associated with it will be getting smaller and more accurate and increasingly these sensors and display or feedback methods will become more personal to the point that they will be directly plugged into the human body.
As the internet of things grows and evolves our need to have a greater understanding and connection with our new digital environment will mean that people will have to have a greater and more constant connection with their digital lives and devices also. These connections to the information provided by the digital world will be constantly evolving. It is through Augmented Reality that this interface between humans and the digital environment will be filtered.
Appendix
A Brief History of Augmented Reality External linkCollection of Augmented Reality related articles External link
Wikipedia page for Augmented Reality External link