What is Augmented Reality?

Augmented reality is a technology that allows people to look at real life scenery through a device and see visuals with lots of computer generated imagery. It allows people to merge real life and the computer generated, to see information, pictures, videos, and the like. Devices like Google Glass allow people to enjoy the real world coupled with digital artifacts that are made by the computer. This can range from the projection of a building on a lot, to a shoe or sweater on someone’s body, to the online design of a room or kitchen using an app that couples user provided dimensions, their camera, and a database of information that holds the graphics for a piece of furniture and its dimensions.

Many companies have begun to capitalize on this technology and have created their own games, applications, or programs that uses the technology for fun or to make things easier for people. For instance, Apple took AR capabilities into account when creating their new iPad Pro which features a LIDAR sensor – light detection and radar – to help the device put together data to detect how far an object is or how far two objects are. Using the iPad and its AR capabilities, people can create apps to design homes, help map out construction layouts, or keep simple and project posters onto their walls.

https://www.apple.com/ios/augmented-reality/

In the link above Apple covers many of the new iPad’s capabilities and what it means for professionals that are looking for a device that allows them to develop user-friendly apps.

Other groups like the U.S. military and Google have also taken notice of the growth of VR and AR and have long been developing technologies that take advantage of the strength of everyday computers and smartphones.

The two videos show some of the capabilities that our technology allows. The U.S. Army and other branches of the military have long used AR technologies for their head’s up displays in their planes and other expensive machinery. Google shows off how smartphones have been used to project characters and other figures into real world environments, allowing games like their’s and Pokemon Go to become widely adopted.