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AUGMENTED REALITY: ENHANCING PERCEPTION IN REAL-TIME ENVIRONMENT


Augmented reality has a variety of uses, from assisting in the decision-making process to entertainment. AR is used to either visually change natural environments in some way or to provide additional information to users. The primary benefit of AR is that it manages to blend digital and three-dimensional (3D) components with an individual's perception of the real world. AR delivers visual elements, sound and other sensory information to the user through a device like a Smartphone, glasses or a headset. This information is overlaid onto the device to create an interwoven and immersive experience where digital information alters the user's perception of the physical world. The overlaid information can be added to an environment or mask part of the natural environment

Being Computer Services, Research and Technology employee Thomas dell coined the term augmented reality in 1990 to describe how the head-mounted displays that electricians use when assembling complicated wiring harnesses worked. One of the first commercial applications of augmented reality technology was the yellow first-down marker that began appearing in television football games in 1998

How does augmented reality work?

Augmented reality is deliverable in a variety of formats, including within smart phones, glasses and headsets. AR contact lenses are also in development. The technology requires hardware components, such as a processor, sensors, a display and input devices. Mobile devices, like smart phones and tablets, already have this hardware onboard, making AR more accessible to the everyday user. Mobile devices typically contain sensors, including cameras, accelerometers, Global Positioning System (GPS) instruments and solid-state compasses. For AR applications on smart phones, for example, GPS is used to pinpoint the user's location, and its compass is used to detect device orientation.

Sophisticated AR programs, such as those used by the military for training, might also include machine vision, object recognition and gesture recognition. AR can be computationally intensive, so if a device lacks processing power, data processing can be offloaded to a different machine.

Augmented reality apps work using either marker-based or marker less methods. Marker-based AR applications are written in special 3D programs that let developers tie animation or contextual digital information into the computer program to an augmented reality marker in the real world. When a computing device's AR app or browser plug-in receives digital information from a known marker, it begins to execute the marker's code and layer the correct image or images.

Marker less AR is more complex. The AR device doesn't focus on a specific point, so the device must recognize items as they appear in view. This type of AR requires a recognition algorithm that detects nearby objects and determines what they are. Then, using the onboard sensors, the device can overlay images within the user's environment

Differences between AR and VR:

VR is a virtual environment created with software and presented to users in such a way that their brain suspends belief long enough to accept a virtual world as a real environment. Virtual reality is primarily experienced through a headset with sight and sound.

The biggest difference between AR and VR is that augmented reality uses the existing real-world environment and puts virtual information on top of it, whereas VR completely immerses users in a virtually rendered environment.

The devices used to accomplish this is also different. VR uses VR headsets that fit over the user's head and present them with simulated audiovisual information. AR devices are less restrictive and typically include devices like phones, glasses, projections and HUDs.

In VR, people are placed inside a 3D environment in which they can move around and interact with the generated environment. AR, however, keeps users grounded in the real-world environment, overlaying virtual data as a visual layer within the environment. So, for example, while VR places a user in a simulated environment, VR could overlay a web browser in front of the user in their living room.


For spatial computing headsets, like Apple Vision Pro or Meta Quest 3, where the device is blocking the user's natural vision, a technique called pass-through is used. Here, the headset mirrors what the device's front-facing cameras see on the headset's display

Top AR use cases:

AR can be used in the following ways, among others:

Retail: Consumers can use a store's online app to see how products, such as furniture, will look in their own homes before buying.

Entertainment and gaming: AR can be used to overlay a video game in the real world or enable users to animate their faces in different and creative ways on social media.

Navigation: A user can overlay a route to their destination over a live view of a road. AR used for navigation can also display information about local businesses in the user's immediate surroundings.

Tools and measurement: Mobile devices can use AR to measure different 3D points in the user's environment.

Art and architecture: AR can help artists visualize or work on a project.

Military: Data can be displayed on a vehicle's windshield, indicating destination directions, distances, weather and road conditions.

Archaeology: AR aids archaeological research by helping archaeologists reconstruct sites. 3D models help museum visitors and future archaeologists experience an excavation site as if they were there.

Examples of AR:

Target app: The Target retail app feature See it in Your Space lets users take a photo of a space in their home and digitally view an object, such as a picture on the wall or a chair, to see how it will look there.

Apple Measure app: The Measure app on Apple iOS acts like a tape measure by letting users select two or more points in their environment and measure the distance between them.

Snap chat : Snap chat can overlay a filter or mask over the user's video or picture.

Pokémon Go: Pokémon Go is a popular mobile AR game that uses the player's GPS sensors to detect where Pokémon creatures appear in the user's surrounding environment for them to catch.

Google Glass: Google Glass was Google's first commercial attempt at a glasses-based AR system. This small wearable computer, which was discontinued in 2023, let users work hands-free. Companies such as DHL and DB used Google Glass and third-party software to help frontline workers in global supply chain logistics and customized shipping.

U.S. Army Tactical Augmented Reality (TAR): The U.S. Army uses AR in an eyepiece called TAR. TAR mounts onto the soldier's helmet and aids in locating another soldier's position

Future of AR technology:

AR technology is growing steadily as the popularity and familiarization of apps and games like Pokémon Go or retail store AR apps increase.

Apple continues to develop and update its open source mobile augmented reality development tool set, ARKit. Companies, including Target and Ikea, use ARKit in their flagship AR shopping apps for iPhone and iPad. ARKit 6, for example, enables the rendering of AR in high dynamic range 4K and improves image and video capture. It also provides a Depth API, which uses per-pixel depth information to help a device's camera understand the size and shape of an object. It includes scene geometry that creates a topological map of a space along with other features.

ARCore, Google's platform for building AR experiences on Android and iOS, continues to evolve and improve. For example, ARCore uses a geospatial API that sources data from Google Earth 3D models and Street View image data from Google Maps. Similar to ARKit's Depth API, ARCore has improved its Depth API, optimizing it for longer-range depth sensing.

Improved AR, VR and mixed-reality headsets are also being released. For example, Meta improved its Quest 2 headset with Meta Quest 3, which was released in October 2023. This new headset is slimmer, lighter and more ergonomic than Quest 2.

Challenges:

  • Hardware Limitations: AR devices often struggle with size, weight, battery life, and processing power.
  • Spatial Awareness & Tracking: Accurate real-time mapping, positioning, and handling occlusions are complex technical hurdles.
  • User Experience (UX): Creating intuitive, comfortable, and non-overwhelming interfaces is difficult, especially with gesture controls or voice commands.
  • Software Development: Real-time rendering, adaptable content, and interoperability across platforms are major hurdles.
  • Privacy & Security: AR collects sensitive data (location, camera feeds), raising privacy concerns and security risks.
  • Social & Ethical Issues: Issues like social acceptance, addiction, bias, and surveillance impact AR adoption.
  • Scalability & Ecosystem: Building a strong content ecosystem, ensuring standardization, and supporting diverse devices are challenges.
  • Regulatory & Legal: Intellectual property, liability, and privacy regulations need to evolve for AR technology.
  • Cost & Accessibility: Development costs are high, and access to AR may be limited for some users.
  • Integration with Existing Tech: AR must work seamlessly with VR, 5G, and cloud services, but this introduces new technical and infrastructure challenges.
  • Health & Safety: Issues like eye strain, motion sickness, and physical discomfort need to be addressed

Conclusion:

Augmented Reality (AR) is transforming how we interact with the world by blending digital content with the physical environment. It’s revolutionizing industries like healthcare, education, and retail, while also enhancing entertainment and social experiences. Despite challenges such as privacy, security, and infrastructure, AR’s potential is vast. As the technology advances, AR is becoming an integral part of daily life, offering exciting possibilities for both personal and professional use. Its influence will only grow, reshaping human-computer interaction and how we experience the world.

Author Bios:

1. Mrs. REVATHI S, AP/CSE
2. Mrs. SUGANYA S, AP/CSE
3. MADHUMITHA M, II-YEAR, CSE
4. KEERTHIKA A, II-YEAR, CSE


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