Augmented Reality 3
Augmented Reality
Augmented Reality, in simple terms, means ‘large’ reality.
The sole reason behind the conceptualization and development of any technology is Convenience. All the technology invented till date can actually be traced back to resolving some human necessity or the other, or to the effort of simplifying a certain task that is otherwise difficult or cumbersome. As obvious, augmented reality serves exactly the same purpose, but in a way that one could only imagine, and one that was only available in works of fiction. Augmented reality is developed as a way of supplementing the real world with enhanced information for ease of the user. With the help of this technology one could get information about a certain product that he wants to buy or information about and directions to a particular place without having to go back to a computer. Instances of augmented reality being tested can be traced back to the mid 1900’s.
Unlike virtual reality, augmented reality does not involve the creation of immersive computer generated virtual environments of its own. The main concept behind the technology is to overlay the physical world around you with computer generated text, sound etc. Augmented
Reality has been developed and tested with many present day applications. Few of the many applications are interactive video games, creative webcam applications, assisted navigation, etc.
In present times, there are oceans of information available to everyone. Several sources of information viz. internet, journals, magazines etc are at our disposal. Few of the many difficulties faced by the seekers of this information are, getting authentic information about the matter of interest. The other difficulty faced by 85 percent of the people using this information is – how does one actually relate all this information to the requirement or situation and come out with the best possible solution. It is almost impossible to memorize all important facts and recall them at the
Augmented Reality, in simple terms, means ‘large’ reality.
The sole reason behind the conceptualization and development of any technology is Convenience. All the technology invented till date can actually be traced back to resolving some human necessity or the other, or to the effort of simplifying a certain task that is otherwise difficult or cumbersome. As obvious, augmented reality serves exactly the same purpose, but in a way that one could only imagine, and one that was only available in works of fiction. Augmented reality is developed as a way of supplementing the real world with enhanced information for ease of the user. With the help of this technology one could get information about a certain product that he wants to buy or information about and directions to a particular place without having to go back to a computer. Instances of augmented reality being tested can be traced back to the mid 1900’s.
Unlike virtual reality, augmented reality does not involve the creation of immersive computer generated virtual environments of its own. The main concept behind the technology is to overlay the physical world around you with computer generated text, sound etc. Augmented
Reality has been developed and tested with many present day applications. Few of the many applications are interactive video games, creative webcam applications, assisted navigation, etc.
In present times, there are oceans of information available to everyone. Several sources of information viz. internet, journals, magazines etc are at our disposal. Few of the many difficulties faced by the seekers of this information are, getting authentic information about the matter of interest. The other difficulty faced by 85 percent of the people using this information is – how does one actually relate all this information to the requirement or situation and come out with the best possible solution. It is almost impossible to memorize all important facts and recall them at the
References: 1. Caudell, T. and Barfield, W., 2000, Fundamentals of Wearable Computers and Augmented Reality, United States of America, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Publishers. 2. Bimber, O. and Raskar, R., 2005, Spatial Augmented Reality: Merging Real and Virtual Worlds, USA, A K Peters, Ltd.. 3. Sutherland, I. E., 1968, A Head-Mounted Three Dimensional Display. In: Fall Joint Computer Conference, 9-11 December 1968, USA, Pp 757-764. 4. Caudell, T. and Mizell, D. W., 1992, Augmented reality: an application of heads-up display technology to manual manufacturing processes. In: 25th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 7-10 January 1992, USA, pp 659-669. 5. Nicolau, S., Schmid, J., Pennec, X. et. al., 2004, An Augmented Reality and Virtuality Interface for a Puncture Guidance System: Design and Validation on an Abdominal Phantom, In: Medical Imaging and Augmented Reality, 19-20 August 2004, China, pp 302-310. 6. Bonsor, K. (2001). How Augmented Reality Works [online] Available from: [Accessed 16 October 2010]. 7. Horn, C. and Neilan, C., 2010, Publishers Enhance Reality for Children [online], Available from: [Accessed 17 October 2010] 8. Adams, M., 2004, Augmented Reality Technology Promises Breakthroughs in Education and Cognitive Potential [online], Available from: [Accessed 15 October 2010] 9. Kirkpatrick, M., 2009, Nokia 's Vision of Augmented Reality [online], Available from: [Accessed 15 October 2010] 10. Schelle, J., 2010 June, "Seeing", Keynote presented at California, Santa Clara, USA.