Friday, September 1, 2017

Word of the Day: augmented reality (AR)

Word of the Day WhatIs.com
Daily updates on the latest technology terms |September 1, 2017
augmented reality (AR)

Augmented reality (AR) is the integration of digital information with the user's environment in real time. Unlike virtual reality, which creates a totally artificial environment, augmented reality uses the existing environment and overlays new information on top of it.

Boeing researcher Thomas Caudell coined the term augmented reality in 1990, to describe how the head-mounted displays that electricians used when assembling complicated wiring harnesses worked. One of the first commercial applications of AR technology was the yellow "first down" line that began appearing in televised football games sometime in 1998. Today, Google Glass and heads-up displays in car windshields are perhaps the most well-known consumer AR products, but the technology is used in many industries including healthcare, public safety, gas and oil, tourism and marketing.

 

Augmented reality apps are written in special 3D programs that allow the developer to tie animation or contextual digital information in the computer program to an augmented reality "marker" in the real world.  When a computing device's AR app or browser plug-in receives digital information from a known marker, it begins to execute the marker's code and layer the correct image or images.

AR applications for smartphones typically include global positioning system (GPS) to pinpoint the user's location and its compass to detect device orientation. Sophisticated AR programs used by the military for training may include machine vision, object recognition and gesture recognition technologies.

Quote of the Day

"Unlike some of the previous revolutions we've seen, the cost of entry into augmented reality and virtual reality is significantly low. As a result, adoption has happened much more rapidly." - Steve Soechtig

Related Terms and Tags
RELATED TERMS

virtual reality

heads-up display

Microsoft HoloLens

Google Glass

gesture recognition

RELATED TAGS

Mobile ERP and business applications for manufacturing
Wearables and emerging tech

 
Learning Center

Augmented and virtual reality make a play for the enterprise
Experts at Deloitte Digital explained why augmented and virtual reality are poised to shake up the enterprise: The Data Mill reports.

Augmented-reality technology may transform work as we know it
Augmented-reality technology is still on the cusp of corporate consciousness. Once it makes it to the mainstream, will it be a gamechanger?

PTC ready to create augmented reality 'magic' in the enterprise
PTC CEO Jim Heppelmann says it's time for augmented reality to make its mark on the enterprise.

Augmented reality provides a change of perspective for manufacturers
Augmented reality, a subset of the Internet of Things, helps manufacturers and consumers see beyond what is to what could be.

Augmented reality business applications start to get real
Augmented reality applications have tended to be gimmicky marketing wheezes. But companies are starting to explore the technology's potential for creating business value.

Stay In Touch
FOLLOW US
TwitterRSS
CONTACT AN EDITOR
For feedback about any of our articles or to send us your article ideas, please contact us at: mrouse@techtarget.com
About This E-Newsletter
This e-newsletter is published by the TechTarget network. To unsubscribe from Whatis.com, click here. Please note, this will not affect any other subscriptions you have signed up for.
TechTarget

TechTarget, Whatis, 275 Grove Street, Newton, MA 02466. Contact: webmaster@techtarget.com

Copyright 2016 TechTarget. All rights reserved.

No comments: