Augmented Architecture

AR can aid in visualizing building projects. Computer-generated images of a structure can be superimposed into a real life local view of a property before the physical building is constructed there. AR can also be employed within an architect's work space, rendering into their view animated 3D visualizations of their 2D drawings. Architecture sight-seeing can be enhanced with AR applications allowing users viewing a building's exterior to virtually see through its walls, viewing its interior objects and layout.

The video below shows how 3D renderings of building projects can be seen by the customer via a phone app.

Augmented Reality - The Future of Education

Remember the old classrooms with blackboard and chalk? Augmented reality is changing the scenario of present day education. It is gaining relevance with time by creating a unique opportunity for students to interact with the digitized and virtual environment enabling to understand concepts in an effective manner.

The video below shows an artists imagination of what the future holds for education hand in hand with Reality augmentation technology.

Expanding advertising horizons through AR

Augmented reality, or AR, may finally be coming of age. Particularly for Millennials, defined as those born in the 1980s and whose lives revolve around being constantly connected to technology (Blackberries, iPhones, Facebook, Twitter, video games, and more), AR offers a serious opportunity for marketers to reach these important consumers. With augmented reality, marketers can take the physical world and combine it with the digital world, giving both users and brands the ability to connect even further with a product before, during and after making a purchase.

The above picture has been taken from an Audi Augmented Ad Campaign, that allows its viewer to seeand experience the 3D model of the Audi R8.

The video below shows how a shoe brand used AR to allow its viewers to see an augmented model of their product, increasing both impact and appeal. The world of adverting will never be the same again.

The future of shopping : Augmented Shopping

What's the future of retail, and how far away is it? Turns out that in the next couple of years, customers will be able to try on clothes and products at home with no shipping required. Technology will allow shoppers to virtually wear garments — smelling, hearing and feeling the fabric as if it were real.

Sound crazy? It's not, when you look deeply into the world of augmented reality. Augmented reality technology typically overlays the virtual world on top of the real-world environment through a device, such as a mobile phone or a tablet. But certain companies are redefining the bounds of virtual reality experiences by home-growing their own unique AR technologies and platforms.

Although augmented reality, in its current state, is still a young and developing industry, my bet is that it's going to completely change retail.

The video below demonstrates how AR can change the way we shop, opening up limitless avenues for retailers. Enjoy!

Taking gaming to the next level through AR

Video games have been entertaining us for nearly 30 years, ever since Pong was introduced to arcades in the early 1970s. Computer graphics have become much more sophisticated since then, and game graphics are pushing the barriers of photorealism. Now, researchers and engineers are pulling graphics out of your television screen or computer display and integrating them into real-world environments. This new technology, called augmented reality, blurs the line between what's real and what's computer-generated by enhancing what we see, hear, feel and smell.

On the spectrum between virtual reality, which creates immersive, computer-generated environments, and the real world, augmented reality is closer to the real world. Augmented reality adds graphics, sounds, haptic feedback and smell to the natural world as it exists. Both video games and cell phones are driving the development of augmented reality. Everyone from tourists, to soldiers, to someone looking for the closest subway stop can now benefit from the ability to place computer-generated graphics in their field of vision.

The video below presented presented by IGN shows the innovations of Japanese based electronics manufacturer Sony in the field of Augmented reality gaming.

Redefining movies through AR

What do you do when watching passively a film on a screen does no longer excite your cinephile senses despite the latest 3D HD video and sound technologies? You experience  an augmented reality movie.

Augmented reality technologies have been portrayed in films for decades, some of the most popular being the Terminator series, Minority Report, Avatar and Tron, but these are not the kind of augmented reality movies we are referring in this article.

What we mean by “augmented reality movie” is the film that allows the viewer to experience and interact with the movie (i.e. set, action, characters) in real-time, altering their perceptions, sensations and conceptions about reality.

Augmented reality refers not only to a merger of digital data and real information but also to an interaction between both. One of the core indicators of any AR application’s success is its degree of interactivity. The same thing applies to an augmented reality movie. If the viewer cannot interact with any element of the film, their experience is almost equal to seeing it on a normal TV, which makes the entire AR concept obsolete

The video below shows an app by the name 'Augmented reality Cinema', allowing its users to augment characters, objects etc to real spaces. Imagine the possibilities of AR in entertainment!

How does Reality Augmentation work?

Augmented reality is defined as a form of technology where computer generated images is superimposed onto objects as a form of enhancement. They improve or augment what is already there.
The integration of the real with the simulated blurs the boundary between the two as well as enhancing our senses. Augmented reality is nearer to the real world than virtual reality which is based upon fully immersive artificial worlds.
The video below presented by the HowStuffWorks Team explains how basic reality augmentation works. A must watch for all curious minds!