The Rise of Augmented Reality
Davis Dwitama Chandra
Augmented reality, also known as AR, combines digital information with real-time environment. It provides visual, audio, and other sensory elements through a device, such as smartphone. AR devices require several hardware components, such as a processing unit, sensors and cameras, display, software, and input devices. AR applications are built using 3D programs that allow the developers to combine digital information with a real-time display. Nowadays, the most popular AR device is AR glasses. There are already lots of brands developing different types of AR glasses, such as Microsoft, Google, Oculus, and many more. The price of AR glasses ranges from US$ 400 to US$ 3500. It can be used for several activities, from real-time walking experience combined with digital information to gaming.
In the current times, AR is already applied in several aspects, such as navigation, gaming, education, retail, social media, etc. Navigation applications, like Google Maps, use AR to provide directions to help the users find the best routes possible. Pokemon Go is an example of AR usage in gaming. It uses smartphone cameras while adding digital elements into the real world displayed on the smartphone. It allows the users to interact with the digital world through the screen. In education, AR provides interactive 3D models to enhance the learning process. In retail or shopping, AR allows the users to visualize the product they are about to buy by applying it to the real world. When shopping in a clothing brand website, it allows the users to use their whole body photo as the mannequin and dress themselves with the clothing available in the website so that they can visualize it more clearly. Lastly, a lot of people have already used this feature in social media, where the users are able to use filters and effects on their photos and videos through the smartphone camera.
Even though augmented reality has been very influential and advanced in the current times, there are several expectations about AR. The main expectation is that AR can help improve the quality of our daily activities, like providing an enhanced interaction through AR glasses. In the business industry, AR is expected to enhance the quality of the company and also the employees, by using it to train the employees, maintenance, and also other operational purposes. In gaming, AR is expected to be the future of the industry. The development of gaming using AR has already started by providing real-time experience using AR glasses. AR can also help break the image of gaming being an unhealthy activity since it doesn’t require any physical moves. With AR, the virtual world is combined with the real world. It enables the players to make physical moves and also interact with other players in real-time which can connect people from different parts of the world to interact and become friends. AR also provides potential for game developers to make a more interesting multiplayer experience games or games that require collaborations. These expected potentials show how influential augmented reality is to the future of this world in the technology side of life.