How Augmented Reality Is The Next Big Social Experience
Original story at hongkiat.com• mentions •
First coined in 1990 by Tom Caudell, a researcher at aircraft manufacturer Boeing, ‘augmented reality’ used to refer to a head-mounted digital display worn by aircraft technician to guide them in the assembly of electrical wires in aircrafts.Today, the fundamental idea remains in the definition of AR, which according to Digital Trend is "the interaction of superimposed graphics, audio and other sense enhancements over a real-world environment that’s displayed in real-time".By this definition, AR can refer to some technologies which have already existed for years. Take for instance sports telecasting where you see colored lines drawn against real-time gameplay of say, a soccer match. These lines may be used to indicate the offside boundaries in which the players must not cross or to show the movements of the ball or players. AR is not to be (commonly) confused with Virtual Reality (VR), where the primary goal is to replace the real world with a simulated one.We often take such existing technology for granted because they are so prevalent and commonplace that we don’t associate them with what we normally assume as ‘high-tech’ AR.If you ever need proof that AR will be the next big thing, just take a look at the upcoming Google’s Project Glass, a highly-anticipated head-mounted display that aims to bring AR to the next level. The key draw of having AR integrated with eyewear is that users will be able to view information and interact with the computer and the internet much like how we do for smartphones today, except this is hands-free.