Augmented reality

Augmented reality (AR) is the use of screens and devices to display information and digital objects in real-world settings. This is usually accomplished by "looking through" a mobile phone or tablet and seeing digital objects, or by wearing eyeglasses or headsets that display information and digital objects in addition to what is being seen in the real world.

Definition

Augmented reality (AR) is a technology that enables interaction with digital objects within real-world space through the display of information and objects via a device. Digital objects are superimposed onto the user's vision of the real world via handheld digital devices, projectors, or headwear like glasses. These devices generate additional visual information for the user and places it "on top of" the real world things that the user sees.

Augmented reality purposefully combines the real and virtual worlds and performs this combination through multiple senses, mostly through sight and sound. The objects that are displayed via AR are highly interactive with the environment and the user. Objects can appear as both 2D and 3D, depending upon the device being used.

Additional Information

The interactivity of AR is one of the primary benefits of using it. Animated digital objects are displayed alongside or on top of the real-world information that the user of the device is seeing. Additionally, sounds and other senses might be used, such as the vibration of a digital device or wearable devices that the user has on. Digital objects in AR can ideally also interact with what the user is seeing, with the device's cameras and sensors able to detect objects, landmarks, and locations and respond to these objects.

For instance, in an AR app on a phone that provides information about their locations when they walk down the street, a user would hold their phone up and "look through" the window to see augmented information displayed about what they were looking at. The information or objects would move around based on how the user moved their phone - the digital display is interactive based on the environment. Additionally, such an AR street walking information app could interact with objects that are encountered in real space, such as road signs and obstacles. AR apps are increasingly able to read signs and give directions by combining navigation databases and the ability to read signs and text. In another example, the Google Translate app can be held up to a sign or block of text in the real world, and the app will translate the sign into another language in real time by superimposing the desired language on top of the real-space sign.

AR often also employs geolocation via GPS sensors (such as those in phones and tablets) and sensors (e.g., gyroscope, accelerometer, light sensor) to change information or react to a user's change in physical space. The objects that are displayed can be programmed to respond to changes in location and environment. Physical location can be more readily manipulated within AR, giving creators and designers many opportunities to design interactions and immersive experiences for learners.

A very popular AR app in recent years is Pokémon Go by Niantic. In this game, players walk around physical locations to find animated Pokemon characters, which are digitally displayed by the phone or tablet over the real-world images. Through AR, the game makes it seem that these characters actually co-exist and occupy the same space as the player, as they see them through their "magic window." Players catch, raise, and battle friends with their Pokemon, which are all actions that occur in real-space settings. The game also maximizes the use of the phone camera to create a viewscreen, geolocation data to know where a player is traveling, and the gyroscope and accelerometer to know how a player is moving their body around.

The primary thing that separates AR from virtual reality (VR) is that AR only mixes the real world with interactive digital objects. In virtual reality, the user is instead completely immersed in a virtual space completely separate from the real world. In VR, users are expected to interact only within the virtual space, not in the real world. As such, users are typically fully immersed visually within a VR experience through a set of goggles or headgear that completely covers the eyes and projects the virtual world for the user.

In AR and VR, the definitions between real space, virtual space, and hybrid augmented spaces become blurred. One way to think about space and place is to consider where actions and interactions are expected to occur. Do they occur in a real space with real objects and real people, or is the learner expected to interact in a virtual space in an online setting, where actions and interactions occur only on computer servers and digitally mediated spaces? These are questions to consider as AR and VR technologies continue to improve.

Tips and Tricks

Identify what kinds of actions or interactions learners might take in physical spaces with your educational product. How do they use the space and place that their physical bodies occupy, such as a classroom?
Consider what kinds of information might be displayed to learners if they had the ability to see digital objects simultaneously with the real-world space.
Animations and AR may represent a significant investment for educational purposes, but it shows extreme promise as well. It would be wise to substantially plan such an activity and conduct a thorough analysis, design, and development due to the potentially large financial resource requirement.

Augmented reality

From The Learning Engineer's Knowledgebase

Contents

Definition

Additional Information

Tips and Tricks

Related Concepts

Examples

External Resources