Have you every wondered how to show video on top of a picture like “The Daily Prophet” wizarding newspaper from Harry Potter?
Using Augmented reality (AR) technology, it is possible to let people superimpose digital content (images, sounds, text, videos, 3D objects ) over a real-world environment. AR got a lot of attention in 2016 when the game Pokémon Go made it possible to interact with Pokémon superimposed on the world via a smartphone screen.
Augmented Reality (AR) is on the verge of becoming a part of everyday life. The most commonly used AR applications these days rely on smartphones to showcase the digitally augmented world: users can activate a smartphone’s camera, view the real world around them on the screen, and rely on an AR application to enhance that world in any number of ways via digital overlays:
- Superimposing images, digital information and/or 3D models
- Videos like in Vaalthu greeting cards
- Adding real-time directions
- Inserting labels
- Changing colors
- Altering the user or their environment’s appearance via “filters” on Instagram, Snapchat, and other apps
In understanding what AR is, it’s also very important to understand what it is not.
AR is not a fully immersive experience like virtual reality (VR). While virtual reality requires users to wear a special headset and pulls them into a completely digital world, AR lets users continue interacting with the physical world around them.