Augmented Reality Definition and Meaning


Imagine: You put glasses on your nose and look around you. You can see what food the restaurant across the street is offering today, that the apartment two floors above is for sale and read the bus schedule from the stop at the intersection. You see that one of your friends is in the library two blocks away and is checking your e-mails without looking at your smartphone. What sounds like science fiction is already reality today – or better: augmented reality. The scenario described makes it clear what is behind the term “Augmented Reality” (abbreviated to AR): The computer-aided expansion of the perception of reality.

  • The device camera captures images from the environment.
  • Short for AR by abbreviationfinder, augmented reality is already being used for football broadcasts.
  • There are currently not enough batteries available.

The basic principle of augmented reality

The device camera captures images from the environment. Additional information is shown on the display, such as a Wikipedia article on a sight. The device finds this by using a GPS sensor and compass to determine the location and direction of view, and using the geographic information in the online lexicon to determine what can be seen there. Other apps rely on image recognition.

In principle, all human senses could be addressed with it, but currently most developments, such as Google’s data glasses in the future, are based on the visual representation of additional information: With the help of images or videos, additional information is provided from the Internet that complements our natural optical perception .

Augmented Reality is already being used today

But the idea is not entirely new: Augmented reality is already being used for football broadcasts, for example by showing distances for free kicks with the help of a circle or a line. Even if museum visitors receive additional information about an exhibition object via an audio guide, this is augmented reality.

But smartphones and tablets give augmented reality a new boost: offline and online information are more closely linked. All of the knowledge collected on the Internet is available to us in everyday situations when we need it, as this example shows: When someone buys a T-shirt, they can use the label on their smartphone to view additional product information online about the shirt.

Challenge: Implement processes in real time

Before augmented reality comes into our everyday life, however, there are still some challenges to be mastered. On the one hand, currently available batteries are not yet sufficient to supply augmented reality systems with electrical energy for a longer period of time. In addition, the sensors, the visualization and the availability of data are other challenges. So far, all of these problems have made it difficult to implement processes smoothly in real time. It will be some time before Google , Apple and the rest of the technology giants bring augmented reality into our everyday lives.

AUGMENTED REALITY

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