What is AR?

The real and virtual worlds are increasingly merging and augmented reality (AR) is one of the most accessible ways to experience this technological advancement. You’ve probably already engaged with AR and may not have even realized it — TikTok effects, Zoom backgrounds, and Pokémon Go are all AR!

So you’ve likely used AR, but what exactly is it? We’re here to help break it down.

Augmented reality (AR), illustration by Halsey Berryman

The TLDR on AR

At its core, augmented reality is a system that brings together the real world and the virtual worlds. When experiencing AR, the real world is enhanced (or augmented) by technology. Today, these enhancements are commonly visual overlays (like social media filters and effects) but they can also be auditory, haptic, and even olfactory in nature. You can access augmented reality with naught but your smartphone, making it one of the more accessible types of extended reality (XR).

How is AR different from VR, MR, and XR? 

You can think of AR as the most basic form of the merging of virtual and real worlds, which is overall considered extended reality (XR). In order of increasing complexity, the hierarchy of XR generally goes, AR, MR (mixed reality), and then VR (virtual reality), where VR is fully immersive in a completely distinct virtual environment, and AR simply modifies your existing surroundings, but with some limitations.

Hardware components of AR 

In order to create and access AR, there are a few hardware components needed. These include a processor, display, sensors, and input devices. Luckily, most of today’s smartphones have these elements – for example, your iPhone has a camera, an accelerometer, and built-in GPS, which allows it to bring you into an AR environment to play Pokémon Go. 

You could also don a pair of AR-enabled eyeglasses for a slightly more immersive AR experience, much like the not-so-popular Google Glass. These glasses use cameras to capture the real world, and then manipulate (and augment) these images to display directly on the lens. 

You could also even use a projector to enhance your natural world with AR, especially given these devices can project onto a wide range of surfaces. 

Applications of AR

There are a wide range of applications for augmented reality as well as future potential for it, with everything from education to commerce to entertainment as fair game. Let’s look at a few:

Education

By superimposing text, images, videos, and sounds onto a real-world environment, AR can greatly enhance the learning. For example, the Wonderscope app allows students to interact directly with stories via iOS-enabled devices, whereas Merge Cube allows students to virtually hold objects like fossils, gemstones, and more in their hands. Thanks to the relatively low technological cost of AR, teachers can find creative ways to bring AR into their classrooms.

Informal educational environments like museums are also ripe for AR. For example, at Meridian Treehouse, we collaborated with Meta and the Smithsonian to create AR exhibits that bring historic artifacts like the Apollo command module to life as part of our immersive “Moonwalk” experience.

Our partner, The Hydrous, also collaborated with The Smithsonian and Adobe to bring their coral archive to life through an award-winning educational AR app that highlights the difference between healthy and stressed coral reefs.

Retail

AR is a great way to enhance advertisements or shopping experiences using your smartphone. Shopify has long touted an AR Quick Look integration, which allows merchants to upload 3D models of their goods for users to view in the real world. Snapchat (among other apps) also offers a feature that allows you to try on clothes without ever having to enter a dressing room (much less leave your home). Furniture retailers like Ikea and Wayfair are also offering customers the opportunity to view pieces in their own homes prior to purchase. 

Video Games

Unsurprisingly, there are a wide range of games that have wrapped their arms around AR technology. There’s AR air hockey, AR pool, and AR space games. These games generally allow players to engage in their digital games in a real-world environment. Perhaps the most famous is Pokémon Go, which allows players to seek out pokémon all throughout their respective cities in what could almost be compared to an AR-based scavenger hunt. 

Healthcare

Since the late 20th century, augmented reality has been used in the healthcare and medical fields. Today, AR gives doctors access to patient imaging records and videos, which can be overlaid on real-world environments, and can help mothers and doctors alike enhance their view of a fetus while still in the womb. The technology has also been used in laparoscopic liver surgery to help view tumors and vessels underneath the skin. Of course, AR-based trainings have also proven useful in healthcare, providing important guidance during surgery demonstrations. 

Workplace 

Companies like Boeing, BMW, and Volkswagen have been known to use AR in their assembly lines to help with process improvements in the manufacturing process. When building heavy machinery, AR can be used almost like an X-ray, allowing workers to look through a plane or a car to identify potential problems. Beyond building heavy equipment, however, AR has also been found to help with workplace collaboration. Indeed, AR technologies have been shown to boost worker productivity by making employees not only more skilled, but more efficient as well across the board. 

Tourism 

If you’re traveling, you may find that AR is a useful way to help you make your way around an unfamiliar location. AR can be used to display real-time information about a range of locations against a real-world display, offering everything from directions to simulations of historical events. Various AR apps can also provide audio guidance to the user once they arrive at particular sites. 

In Conclusion…

Augmented reality helps to create opportunities for additional education, interaction, and engagement with the physical world around us. Because many applications of AR do not require significant equipment beyond a smartphone or tablet, the technology tends to be one of the more accessible forms of extended reality. So if you’re curious about exploring a world that is enhanced by technology, AR should be your first stop. 

Geek Out With Us More

If you’re interested in digging into this topic even more, particularly from an educational perspective, we encourage you to review our evidence-based “Introduction to Learning the Metaverse” where we explore topics like the history of technology and education, when and how to integrate XR into learning, its pros and cons, and more!