AUGMENTED REALITY (AR)
Augmented reality blends interactive virtual entities with the real world. Augmented reality is often confused with virtual reality as they have few things in common. Virtual reality blocks the real world view so that a user can experience a whole new reality, whereas augmented reality forges a layer of virtual objects over the real world view. It enhances the audio, video and sensory experiences without losing touch with the physical world.
Augmented reality shapes the real-world perception of the user according to their real-time requirements. The mixed reality of both digital and real-world lets you interact with virtual objects in real-time. Mobile games like pokemon go are the most common and simple forms of AR in current times.
IMPACT OF AR ON BUSINESSES
As technology leaps forward with each passing day, business organizations must upgrade in order to meet the requirements of their clientele. The use of AR decreases the work of clients and merchants dramatically. It helps the clients and merchants to see what the end results might look like before starting the actual work.
It is no doubt that AR is going to be the future of computation as its real-world applications are innumerable. AR covers a very wide spectrum ranging from interior design to medicine to military the list just goes on. Every industry is trying to incorporate AR tech into their products to get their customers involved at a personal level. Here are some industries that AR can drastically change after its ascension.
Mobile Apps
There are more extensive and innovative ways to include Augmented Reality Mobile App
, AR in mobile applications apart from games. The Swedish furnishing giant IKEA already has an app called IKEA Place that lets its users check if a piece of furniture fits in the desired place in their apartment. While apps like DULUX VISUALISER helps you to decide what color paint will suit your walls, there are other applications like Ink Hunter lets you see what kind of tattoos may look good on you.SketchAR is another cool application that assists artists and common individuals to trace out the lines before drawing an actual image.
MEDICINE
Medicine and healthcare are major businesses that will have a significant impact through AR. AccuVein is a device that doctors are using to view the network of nerves a patient has. Virtually simulated surgical environments will help the medical students to perform surgeries with minimum errors. Doctors can perform full-body diagnosis and augmented surgeries on the patient before making the first incision. As good as it may sound it also has a downside to it, as we all know that AR is mostly generated by software algorithms so even the slightest error in a single line of code may lead to disastrous results.
MILITARY AND WEAPONRY
Armies are one of the first institutions to include Augmented Reality into their various fields of work. One of the earliest applications of AR was on the headgear of fighter pilots, which displayed the area of navigation. Nowadays the military is using AR extensively for combat training and medical response training on the battlefield. Virtual simulation of battlefields is used to train cadets in locating enemies, driving military vehicles assessing the surroundings and planting explosives. Air force and special corps are using headgear that assists them in navigating through different terrains.
MEDIA
Media is one sector that AR is going to change entirely. The whole dynamics of broadcasting and publishing will have major changes as AR makes advertising more interactive. People can just walk the streets wearing their AR specs and the billboards would start talking to them. You no longer have to read a magazine, just place your AR app on the magazine, the image itself turns into a video that reads the article associated with it.
EDUCATION
Some educational institutions are already using AR technology for teaching, but there is still a large scope for improvement. Over 90% of youngsters are using smartphones but not for educating themselves. The ability of AR to virtually generate any type of 3D and 4D can help professors to create an imaginary object or structure which can be hard to imagine when looked at it in 2D via theoretical explanation.
Medical students can study the anatomy of the human body by observing and dissecting a virtually simulated three-dimensional model. It will be easier to explains the concepts of physics and their applications in day to day life. Applications like Elements 4D allow the students to combine different elements, to see how their chemical reactions would turn out in the real world.
Not just college students, even kids can be educated by using interactive AR. It will increase their focus and involvement in the classroom. Pupils can go to a museum and point their smartphone cameras using an AR app at any artifact and the application will give a detailed history of that artifact. AR applications can also be used for self-education. Apps like Mondly interact with their users in a selected language on a daily basis to make them learn and speak the language.
BENEFITS
- It is an engaging and interesting piece of technology.
- It will be a game-changer in the commerce sector.
- Enhances the user experience while trying to buy or design something
- Ability to manifest any shape and structure into 3D and 4D.
- It will add a new dimension to technological advancements.
- It will change the face of media, entertainment, and gaming industries.
CONCLUSION
With the dawn of AR, we will be one step closer to the world of science fiction. Augmented Reality will entirely change the way people perceive technology. Its interactive nature allows it to draw instant attention and curiosity of its users. Activities like buying clothes, furnishing homes, designing interiors, will not be the same as before. The constant advancements in Augmented Reality will blur the lines between real and virtual worlds. Whether you like it or not Augmented Reality is the future of technology. If the right kind of equipment and infrastructure is developed AR can become an irreplaceable part of human life.