Augmented reality looks set to change the way we interact with the world around us. Its capabilities, endless.We, at Raztech feel that revolutionary technology deserves to be explored and shared with you.
Over the past few years, a technology straight out of a 1980's Sci-Fi film has been taking form and looks set to change the way we interact with the word around us. Unlike virtual reality, which requires you to inhabit an entirely virtual environment, augmented reality uses your existing natural environment and simply overlays virtual information on top of it.
As both virtual and real worlds harmoniously coexist, users of augmented reality experience a new and improved natural world where virtual information is used as a tool to aid in everyday activities. Although this technology is still in the initial stages of development and rather expensive, it is predicted to become accessible to the masses in the next few years. Infrastructure still remains a huge part of this technology being accessible will most likely be more advantageous for those in bigger cities initially.
The applications of this technology go far beyond accessing reviews of places around you or determining the weather before you go outside. Designing the layout of buildings, apartments and furnishings, normally an arduous task, will be completely simplified. With online shopping revolutionizing the way we buy and sell products; augmented reality will allow users to see virtual product scaled to actual size from the comfort of their home. This will assist in online purchases and almost completely eliminate the need for consumers to enter the retail space.
Probably one of the most functional uses of this technology is in education. Visual learning in many recent studies has ranked the highest among the youth of today and with AR, visual learning is taken to a whole new level. Being able to see 3D virtual objects that are interactive is just the start of the Augmented Reality revolution. Virtual dressing rooms are also becoming a reality; with the help of AR mirrors people can will be able to see what clothing items would look good on them without having to even try them on.
Another exciting example of AR in the real-world is AR business cards. As opposed to normal business cards that include a job title and contact details; an AR code is also present along with other useful information. You can easily scan this AR code through your Smartphone. This enables you to get extra digital contents, like 3D or 360-degree videos of the relevant products. Ensuring information about the business and its products are a scan away.
Being able to see the world for what it is and not it is perceived to be is something that this technology looks to bring to the forefront. One thing that is becoming apparent in our ever-evolving world is the issue of convenience. Smartphones and smart devices in general are a huge part of the culture we live in and these will be the initial devices which augmented reality will be found on. However eventually we will be able to actively interact with our environment using all of our senses with devices like AR glasses. This is the most significant goal of Augmented reality.
With the popularity of this technology exponentially increasing studies show as of November 2017 there are 1,261 augmented reality start-ups boasting a 71% increase in 9 months highlights the rate in which the augmented reality industry is growing according to AngelList. Probably the greatest part about this technology is how boundless it is; with AR we are only limited by our creativity which spells exciting times for the future of the world as a whole and signals an element of connectivity to our surroundings that has never been seen before.