Augmented Reality (AR): Definition, Examples, and Uses

What Is Augmented Reality (AR)?

Augmented reality (AR) is an enhanced version of the real world, achieved through the use of computer-generated digital information. These include visual, sound, and other sensory elements. AR uses computer hardware and software, such as apps, consoles, screens, or projections, to combine digital information with the real-world environment.

AR is a growing trend among companies developing metaverse solutions, particularly in mobile computing and business applications.

Amid the increase in data collection and analysis, one of augmented reality’s primary goals is to highlight specific features of the physical world, increase understanding of those features, and derive smart and accessible insight that can be applied to real-world applications. This "big data" can help inform companies’ decision-making, gain insight into consumer spending habits, and much more.

Understanding Augmented Reality (AR)

Augmented reality continues to be developed and become more pervasive among a wide range of applications. Since its beginnings, marketers and technology firms have had to battle the perception that augmented reality is little more than a marketing tool. However, there is evidence that consumers may derive tangible benefits from this technology—but the field is still young, and research is relegated to small populations, making it difficult to discern trends or correlations.

Some experts have long speculated that wearable devices could be a breakthrough for augmented reality. Smartphones and tablets show a tiny portion of the user’s landscape, but smart eyewear, for example, may provide a more complete link between real and virtual realms if it develops enough to become mainstream.

Examples of Augmented Reality

Some early adopters in the retail sector have developed AR technologies designed to enhance the consumer shopping experience. Augmented reality has been incorporated into store catalog apps, which allows consumers to visualize what different products would look like in different environments. For example, when buying furniture, shoppers point the camera to the appropriate room, and the product will appear in the foreground.

Augmented reality’s benefits can also extend to the healthcare sector, where it can play a much bigger role. AR apps enable users to see highly detailed, 3D images of different body systems when they hover mobile devices over a target image. This use of AR has become a powerful learning tool for training medical professionals.

Augmented Reality vs. Virtual Reality vs. Mixed Reality

Augmented reality and virtual reality are often confused—augmented reality uses the existing real-world environment and puts virtual information—or even a virtual world—on top of it to enhance the experience. For example, think of Pokémon Go, where users are searching in their real-life neighborhoods for animated characters that pop up on their phone or tablet. In the NFL, broadcasters use AR technology to better analyze plays.

In contrast, virtual reality immerses users into an entirely different environment, typically a virtual one created and rendered by computers. For example, virtual reality users may be immersed in an animated or digital scene. Virtual reality can also be used to photograph an actual local location and embed it in a VR app. Through a virtual reality headset, someone can walk around Italy as if they were actually there.

Mixed reality is a version that combines augmented and virtual realities. For example, imagine sitting at your desk with your VR goggles on, but there is a virtual projection of everything on your desk. You can look at your keyboard and see your hands typing on it while feeling the actual keys clicking. Your water bottle is right beside the keyboard in the VR and real worlds, and you can see your hand reaching for and grabbing it (in VR and reality) while you feel your hand grabbing it simultaneously. Combine this with a floor that moves under you, and you have a recipe for unprecedented experiences.

The Bottom Line

Augmented reality is a technology that overlays a real-world environment with a computer-generated one, enhancing the user's experience and shifting their perspective. It can be used in everything from gaming and design to shopping and education. It is a form of mixed reality, combining the real world with digital visual elements, as opposed to virtual reality, which is entirely digital.