You have most likely seen it or were part of it, groups of people, young and old, walking and even running around looking at their smartphones. Places like Central Park, Santa Monica Pier, and even Kijkduin were crowded with groups of people playing Pokémon Go; the first successful augmented reality game. Within a week after launch, an astounding number of 45 million people were playing it. The share price of Nintendo rose rapidly: in two weeks’ time the share price more than doubled.
But what exactly is Augmented Reality?
Augmented reality (AR) is the use of diverse technology to enhance and add virtual images to our view of the real world. It blends real and virtual and is real-time interactive. The aspect of still seeing the real world is very important. Augmented reality is nothing like virtual reality (VR), where the real world is suppressed and you view a completely virtual world. Instead, augmented reality adds a digital layer to the real environment.
Applications of Augmented Reality
Since AR is quite a new technology, its full potential hasn’t been recognized, yet. Augmented Reality applications can be, roughly, divided in four categories: advertising and commercial, entertainment, education, and medical applications.
Advertising and commercial
Currently, more and more companies are using augmented reality as a means to offer customers a new way of experiencing their products. It is, therefore, incorporated in the customer experience. Companies could, for example, present their products via augmented reality on a smartphone camera. A good example is IKEA’s augmented reality app. It offers users the possibility to display (virtual) furniture in their current (living) room. This lets the user see and experience the end result of buying that piece of furniture, which could be just the last push needed in order to let the user buy the product. The technology made it possible to test the products in real time, before actually purchasing.
Entertainment
AR can also be utilized for entertainment purposes, such as the gaming industry. Besides Pokémon Go, currently existing augmented reality apps add features to physical board games or enrich your guided tour at the local museum with information and details. MIT Media Lab is currently working on their ALIVE project. This project entails populating the environment with intelligent virtual creatures that respond to user actions.
Education
Next to gaming is education. Its current uses are very similar to (educative) games. But with the ‘Aurasma’ app students can be taught languages or math in a completely new and more visual, way. This opens many opportunities for the innovation of lessons and customs of learning. Moreover, think about biology classes. Human anatomy, plants, and animals could be projected and virtually dissected and projected. Augmented reality could therefore make learning more fun and educational.
Medical
Augmented reality can be used in the medical environment as well. Most of the medical applications deal with image guided and robot-assisted surgery. As a result, significant research has been made to incorporate AR with medical imaging and instruments incorporating the physician’s intuitive abilities. For instance, MRI and CT scans can be projected during surgery. Another application is Accuvein, which uses AR to make veins visible more easily.
Sources:
Accuvein website: https://www.accuvein.com/home/
IKEA website: https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/customer-service/ikea-apps/
Carmigniani, J., Furht, B., Anisetti, M., Ceravolo, P., Damiani, E., & Ivkovic, M. (2011).
Kancherla, A. R., Rolland, J. P., Wright, D. L., & Burdea, G. (1995). A novel virtual reality tool for teaching dynamic 3D anatomy. Proceedings of Computer Vision, Virtual Reality, and Robotics in Medicine ’95, Nice, 163-169.
