What is augmented reality (AR)? Everything you need to know about it. ✽
Have you ever used Instagram or Snapchat filters where graphics are added to your face and you have puppy ears or look like a green alien? This is all a part of augmented reality (AR); it is the addition of digital content to a real-world environment.
It is also very widely seen in games, furniture applications, and more. We cannot deny the fact that it is so much fun to use AR on our smartphones because it mixes between both real-world and virtual reality. This explains why augmented reality is popular.
What is Augmented Reality (AR)?
In short augmented reality is a technology that allows digital content such as images, or even computer graphics to be added to the real world through the screen. Augmented reality is a type of virtual reality as well and it has been around for over 3 decades.
Through a smartphone one can open the camera to view the real world and enhance it with different digital content, there are various AR applications that are popular among smartphone users such as Instagram and Snapchat filters, also games such as Pokémon GO popularized AR.
Examples of Augmented reality
A very successful example of augmented reality application in business is done by IKEA, the IKEA mobile application allows its users to choose the type of furniture that they want, after that they can use augmented reality to see how the furniture would look like in the room through the camera and screen of the smartphone. This saves people the hassle of purchasing furniture that they wouldn’t like.
Another successful example of augmented reality is the Nintendo Pokémon GO application which allowed the user to view on camera the real world but CG added a type of Pokémon to the screen for users to catch them. The game became worldwide famous and brought the attention of many people towards augmented reality.
L’Oreal also created a makeup app similar to IKEA where the application scans the user's face allowing various makeup looks to be augmented such as a filter, and make the user experience how their face would look like with different shades of different products. This allows customers to purchase products that they know would look good on them.
What is the difference between Augmented reality and Virtual reality ?
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Differences between: |
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Augmented reality (AR) |
Virtual reality (VR) |
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Uses real-world setting |
Uses completely virtual environment |
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Users have complete control over their presence |
Users are controlled by the system |
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Can be accessed using a smartphone |
Requires headset and other equipment |
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Enhances both real and virtual worlds |
Enhances only the virtual world with a fictional environment looking as realistic as possible. |
Benefits of Augmented Reality (AR)
There are many benefits to augmented reality, some of them are mentioned below:
- Unique customer experience: this is a huge benefit of augmented reality where it blends both virtual and real-world environments together to the user without the need to have special equipment.
- Avoid information overload: augmented reality usually summarizes information and neatly places them in short snippets to avoid the user getting overwhelmed and frustrated by information.
- Increase user engagement: when augmented reality was introduced it gained huge popularity due to the fact that it allows user interaction and engagement and this can be very important to marketers since it can help brands with their marketing.
- Differentiation: adding this feature to your business will allow your business to stand out more than its competitors and thus making more customers attracted to your brand.
History of augmented reality
Augmented reality has been around longer than expected; the earliest introduction of augmented reality was done in 1968 when Ivan Sutherland created the first head-mounted display. In 1974 Myron Kruger built a laboratory that was entirely dedicated to artificial reality.
The terminology of augmented reality was coined in 1990 by Tom Caudell. And later augmented reality changed and evolved throughout the years to reach what we have today. Various brands involved augmented reality in their marketing, as well as products, or even applications.
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