AUGMENTED REALITY: Integrating the Real and the Virtual | by Tanya Jain

With new technologies that keep coming in every other year, and with the many experiences that each of these provides us, it becomes increasingly difficult to draw the line between what is real and what is just a fabrication generated by our devices. To make the line even blurrier, in comes Augmented Reality. "Augmented" basically means increased in size or value by adding something, and Augmented Reality is a technology which stands by its name: it enhances the user's view of the real world by overlaying a computer-generated image over it, and by adding sound, touch and sometimes, even smell. As a result, AR presents to the user a rich and enhanced, but still unified version of the initial perception, while also providing the illusion of being physically present in a non-physical world.

AUGMENTED REALITY VS VIRTUAL REALITY

Augmented Reality, however, must not be confused with virtual reality.

• VR largely differs from AR in the sense that it replaces the user’s real-world environment with a simulation, whereas AR just modifies and enriches what the user is already perceiving with information about the environment.

• VR comprises essentially of computer-generated environments for the user to interact with, but AR adds to the real, existent environment that the user is present in, and is interacting with.

HOW DOES AR WORK ITS WONDERS?

How this technology works wonders by completely changing the perception of the user is quite fascinating. To put it simply, the live camera feed of the device that the user is using displays content from the user’s world to the AR system. The AR system, using a tool called Computer Vision, enhances its understanding of the object by ascertaining exactly what the object in question is, and then looks for relevant digital content that can be added accordingly. It also acquires the physical information of the object, so that when it adds the computer-generated images to the object, they super-impose the object correctly, and appear more realistic. This is called rendering.

THE MANY FACES OF AUGMENTED REALITY

Technology is taking over the world and augmented reality is taking over technology. It should not come as a surprise then, that the augmented reality system is an important element of the different technologies that we make use of, to undertake more and more of our daily activities. Some interesting applications of this useful technology have been described below.

• Social Media: Social Media has become an indispensable part of life for a lot of us. Every day, we use apps like Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Snapchat to connect with people we know, either through messaging or by sharing daily events of our lives through posts and stories. Augmented reality is used by all of these apps to make the experiences of the users more fun and interactive. Consider Snapchat, for instance. Snapchat’s growing popularity can be attributed to its increasingly innovative filters and lenses, which beautify and/or make our ‘snaps’ more interesting. Snapchat also makes use of its AR platform to enable users to play games with each other through ‘Snappables’ and allows them to make Bitmojis of themselves and place them in the real world through their devices. It has also provided online businesses a platform called Shoppable AR, using which they can promote their products, and if these products are mobile apps, encourage users to install them in their devices. Recently, Facebook introduced its AR studio, called Spark AR which offers people the tools, resources, and inspiration to build new effects, and then publish them on its platforms. Social media apps are creatively harnessing AR technologies to attract more and more users, and it seems to be working, as increasing populations of people around the world are using these apps to add creativity to their lives.

• Military: Many of your favorite sci-fi movies show the immense possibilities that the AR technology offers us. Wouldn’t we all like the AR assisted suit that Robert Downey Jr uses in the Iron-Man movies, to save the world? While a lot of the AR innovations shown in such movies are not yet possible to bring about, some of them are and are already in use. The US Army has already signed a contract with Microsoft to supply prototypes for the AR systems to help soldiers in training and combat missions. To get a faint picture of how warfare will employ the use of AR systems, just imagine modern combat video games, in which players receive a heads-up of the exact position of the enemy, the distance between two points, insights about a territory, etc. This is how AR technology can change the face of military techniques.

• Sports: AR technology can have a large number of applications when it comes to sports. Firstly, it can be used in training players, by incorporating data into pre-recorded videos or overlaying data into the real-world environment, giving them a visual learning experience and enabling them to improve their styles by gaining a better insight into the techniques of the game. Secondly, sports broadcasting companies make use of the Hawk-eye system, which is a computer-based AR solution. It visually tracks the trajectory of the ball, displaying a profile of its statistically most likely path in sports like tennis, badminton, soccer, and cricket. Also, stadiums can tap the many effects of the AR system to provide interactive experiences to fans, and hence, enhance the arena experience. Clearly, AR can lead the future of sports, with respect to both viewing and participating, to new heights.

• Gaming: One of the most popular applications of AR is the game Pokémon Go, which is said to go down in history as the “game which brought AR technology to the public at large”. As players are required to go out and interact with reality in order to “find Pokémon”, this game uses AR technology at its core. Pokémon Go inspired more companies to adopt the AR technology in gaming experiences, in order to make them more immersive. Augmented reality gaming (AR gaming) is the integration of game visual and audio content with the user's environment in real-time. It makes the existing environment of the user a playing field and is usually played on devices like smartphones, tablets, and portable gaming systems.

The applications mentioned above are only some out of the endless list of possible ways that AR systems can make our lives easier, and our daily experiences more interactive. AR technologies can also find uses in healthcare, archaeology, navigation, architecture, flight training, commerce, etc. The list goes on and on.

IS THIS TECHNOLOGY ALL GOOD?

While AR provides the world with an array of opportunities for advancement and innovation, it is also important to consider how dangerous it can be, if used incorrectly. The threat to our privacy is one big danger that acts as a major setback to the vast opportunities that this technology can provide.

AR collects our data and uses it to make our experiences better. Its effectiveness is based on how well it collects and interprets data, which can sometimes be personal. For example, filters used in apps like Snapchat require intimate biometric data, including even retina patterns, which can be used to uniquely identify us. While social media companies continue to assure us that our privacy is respected, we can never know who has access to this data, and to what use they might put it.

Another major security risk is our exposure to hackers, who can hack into AR systems and misuse sensitive data or put our securities and privacies at risk. One thing that also disconcerts some people is how effective AR technologies can be in detaching us from reality, and hence increasing the risk of mental health problems. Hence, even though the technology can make many aspects of our lives easier and more comfortable, it can also change some aspects of our lives for the worse.

CONCLUSION

It is true that with great innovation, there is a greater scope of growth and advancement. However, better technology also leads to a more complicated environment and might make us more vulnerable to irrevocable damage. It is impossible to boycott the use of such technologies, but we can still use them mindfully.