Introduction to Emerging Technology

Chapter 5: Augmented Reality (AR)

Introduction

Augmented reality (AR) is an enhanced version of the real physical world that is achieved
through the use of digital visual elements, sound, or other sensory stimuli delivered via
technology.

Augmented reality is an interactive experience of a real-world environment where the objects

that reside in the real world are enhanced by computer-generated perceptual information,
sometimes across multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic,
somatosensory and olfactory.

Augmented reality (AR) is a form of emerging technology that allows users to overlay
computer-generated content in the real world. AR refers to a live view of a physical real-
world environment whose elements are merged with augmented computer-generated images
creating a mixed reality. The augmentation is typically done in real-time and in semantic
context with environmental elements. By using the latest AR techniques and technologies, the
information about the surrounding real world becomes interactive and digitally usable.
Through this augmented vision, a user can digitally interact with and adjust information about
their surrounding environment

Augmented reality (AR) is a form of emerging technology that allows users to overlay
computer-generated content in the real world. AR refers to a live view of a physical real-
world environment whose elements are merged with augmented computer-generated images
creating a mixed reality. The augmentation is typically done in real-time and in semantic
context with environmental elements. By using the latest AR techniques and technologies, the
information about the surrounding real world becomes interactive and digitally usable.
Through this augmented vision, a user can digitally interact with and adjust information about
their surrounding environment.

5.2. Virtual reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) vs Mixed reality (MR)

With constant development in computer vision and the exponential advancement of computer
processing power, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR)
technology is becoming more and more prominent. With some overlap in the applications and
functions of these emerging technologies, sometimes these terms get confused or are used
incorrectly. The main differences between them are explained below (see Figure 5.1).

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Figure 5.1 Paul Milgram's Reality-Virtuality (RV) Continuum

5.2.1. Virtual Reality (VR)

VR is fully immersive, which tricks your senses into thinking you’re in a different
environment or world apart from the real world. Using a head-mounted display (HMD) or
headset, you’ll experience a computer-generated world of imagery and sounds in which you
can manipulate objects and move around using haptic controllers while tethered to a console
or PC. It is also called a computer-simulated reality.
Using VR devices such as HTC Vive, Oculus Rift or Google Cardboard, users can be
transported into a number of real-world and imagined environments.
Most VR headsets are connected to a computer (Oculus Rift) or a gaming console
(PlayStation VR) but there are standalone devices (Google Cardboard is among the most
popular) as well. Most standalone VR headsets work in combination with smartphones – you
insert a smartphone, wear a headset, and immerse in the virtual reality

5.2.2. Augmented Reality (AR)

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In augmented reality, users see and interact with the real world while digital content is added
to it. If you own a modern smartphone, you can easily download an AR app and try this
technology.

There’s a different way to experience augmented reality, though – with special AR headsets,
such as Google Glass, where digital content is displayed on a tiny screen in front of a user’s
eye.
AR adds digital elements to a live view often by using the camera on a smartphone.
Examples of augmented reality experiences include Snapchat lenses and the game Pokemon
Go. Augmented Reality (AR) is a live, direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world
environment whose elements are augmented (or supplemented) by computer-generated
sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data

5.2.3. Mixed Reality (MR)

Mixed Reality (MR), sometimes referred to as hybrid reality, is the merging of real and
virtual worlds to produce new environments and visualizations where physical and digital
objects co-exist and interact in real-time. It means placing new imagery within a real space in
such a way that the new imagery is able to interact, to an extent, with what is real in the
physical world we know.

For example, with MR, you can play a virtual video game, grab your real-world water bottle,
and smack an imaginary character from the game with the bottle. Imagination and reality
have never been so intermingled.
The key characteristic of MR is that the synthetic content and the real-world content are able
to react to each other in real-time.

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Mixed Reality in Engineering and Medicine

In mixed reality, you interact with and manipulate both physical and virtual items and
environments, using next-generation sensing and imaging technologies. MR allows you to
see and immerse yourself in the world around you even as you interact with a virtual
environment using your own hands—all without ever removing your headset.

It provides the ability to have one foot (or hand) in the real world, and the other in an
imaginary place, breaking down basic concepts between real and imaginary, offering an
experience that can change the way you game and work today.

One of the most obvious differences among augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed
reality is the hardware requirements and also VR is content which is 100% digital and can be
enjoyed in a fully immersive environment, AR overlays digital content on top of the real-
world. and MR is a digital overlay that allows interactive virtual elements to integrate and
interact with the real-world environment. Numerous augmented reality apps and games can
run on almost every smartphone on the market.
On the other hand, virtual reality programs require specialized VR headsets, noise-canceling
headphones, cameras to track room space and boundaries, and sometimes even motion
capture technology. Some of the biggest names in VR tech today are the Oculus Rift, HTC
Vive, and PlayStation VR. For the enjoyment of simple VR videos, there are affordable
makeshift VR headsets like the Google Cardboard, which work by running a video in 360
modes on your smartphone and inserting the phone into the headset.
Mixed reality hardware is still emerging and hasn’t quite broken into the mainstream
consumer market, most likely due to the price. The consumer releases of the Microsoft
HoloLens and Magic Leap One retail for over $2000 USD, which is 3 to 4 times the cost of
the PlayStation VR and HTC Vive VR headsets. However, mixed reality applications
sometimes require exponentially more processing power and thus require more powerful
hardware.

5.3. The architecture of AR Systems

The first Augmented Reality Systems (ARS) were usually designed with a basis on three
main blocks, as is illustrated in Figure 5.7: (1) Infrastructure Tracker Unit, (2) Processing
Unit, and (3) Visual Unit. The Infrastructure Tracker Unit was responsible for collecting data
from the real world, sending them to the Processing Unit, which mixed the virtual content

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with the real content and sent the result to the Video Out module of the Visual Unit. Some
designs used a Video In, to acquire required data for the Infrastructure Tracker Unit.

Augmented Reality Systems (ARS) standard architecture

The Visual Unit can be classified into two types of system, depending on the followed
visualization technology:
1. Video see-through: It uses a Head-Mounted Display (HMD) that employs a video-mixing
and displays the merged images on a closed-view HMD.
2. Optical see-through: It uses an HMD that employs optical combiners to merge the images
within an open-view HMD.
HMDs are currently the dominant display technology in the AR field. However, they lack in
several aspects, such as ergonomics, high prices and relatively low mobility due to their sizes
and connectivity features. An additional problem involving HMD is the interaction with the
real environment, which places virtual interactive zones to the user, making the collision with
these zones hard due to the difficulty to interact with multiple points in different depths.

5.4. Applications of AR Systems

Technology is ever-changing and ever-growing. One of the newest developing technologies

is augmented reality (AR), which can be applied to many different disciplines such as
education, medicine, entertainment, military, etc. Let us see some of its applications.

5.4.1. AR In education

Augmented reality allows flexibility in use that is attractive to education. AR technology can
be utilized through a variety of mediums including desktops, mobile devices, and
smartphones. The technology is portable and adaptable to a variety of scenarios. following
reasons for using augmented reality in education:

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 Affordable learning materials - posters, digital illustrations, physical models,

prototypes are very expensive and it’s impossible for schools to find enough money to
purchase all the supplementary materials they would like to. Using AR technology
allows for avoiding investments in physical materials. Besides, students can get
access to learning materials and interact with them anytime.
 Interactive lessons - when AR technology is used in classrooms, students can view
models on their own smartphones and get a better idea of the concepts they are
studying. That increases engagements and reinforces the learning.
 Higher engagement - when teachers integrate augmented reality into their lectures,
they attract the attention of their students and make lessons more effective. When
students are interested, it is much easier to make them work more productively.
 Higher retention - using the AR app, students can get access to augmented models
that represent any real objects from a famous monument or work of art to a molecule.
Besides, students can get access to a website with specific information. When learning
with AR technology, students use different senses and retain more knowledge for a
long time.
 Boost intellectual curiosity - augmented reality makes students more excited about
learning certain subjects. Modern students were born in a digital era so they will
always be excited with innovative technologies that can help them learn new ideas
and develop their critical thinking skills.
5.4.2. AR In Medicine
Augmented reality is one of the current technologies changing all industries,
including healthcare and medical education. The purpose of any invention and
technology is to simplify our life. Augmented reality has the potential to play a big
role in improving the healthcare industry. Only a few years since the first
implementations of augmented reality in medicine, it has already filled an important
place in doctors’ and nurses’ routine, as well as patients’ lives. augmented reality has
already made significant changes in the following medical areas:
• surgery (minimally invasive surgery);
• education of future doctors;
• diagnostics;
• AR tools may also aid to detect the signs of depression and other mental illnesses by
reading from facial expressions, voice tones, and physical gestures.
In medicine, AR has the following applications:

1. Describing symptoms
2. Nursing care
3. Surgery
4. Ultrasounds
5. Diabetes management
6. Navigation

Generally, AR provides the following benefits to patients and healthcare workers: •

Reduce the risks associated with minimally invasive surgery. • Better informed

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decisions about the right treatment and illness prevention. • Make procedures more
tolerable. • Better aftercare • Medical training and education. • Assistance in medical
procedures and routine tasks.
5.4.3. AR In Entertainment
Augmented reality can be used in various ―entertainment‖ industries as entertainment
covers quite a number of different industries – music, movies, live shows, games –
and all of them can benefit from using augmented reality.
 AR on TV
 AR in Music
 AR in games
 AR in eSports
 AR in the theather

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