Augmented reality

Augmented reality

Abbreviated as AR, Augmented Reality is a type of virtual reality that aims to duplicate the world's environment in a computer. An augmented reality system generates a composite view for the user that is the combination of the real scene viewed by the user and a virtual scene generated by the computer that augments the scene with additional information. The virtual scene generated by the computer is designed to enhance the user's sensory perception of the virtual world they are seeing or interacting with. The goal of Augmented Reality is to create a system in which the user cannot tell the difference between the real world and the virtual augmentation of it. Today Augmented Reality is used in entertainment, military training, engineering design, robotics, manufacturing and other industries.

Augmented reality is far more advanced than any technology you've seen in television broadcasts, although early versions of augmented reality are starting to appear in televised races and football games, such as Racef/x and the super-imposed first down line, both created by SporTVision.


The three basic components of an augmented reality system are the head-mounted display, tracking system and mobile computer for the hardware. The goal of this new technology is to merge these three components into a highly portable unit much like a combination of a high tech walkman and an ordinary pair or eyeglasses.

The Head-Mounted Display

Tracking and Orientation

Portable Computer - augmented reality systems will need highly mobile computers. As of now, available mobile computers that can be used for this new technology are still not sufficiently powerful to create the needed stereo 3-D graphics. Graphics processing units like the NVidia GPU by Toshiba and ATI mobility 128 16MB-graphics chips are however being integrated into laptops to merge the current computer technology to augmented reality systems

Gaming and Entertainment - Augmented reality systems can be used to enhance gaming and entertainment. RPG games in the future can be integrated with augmented reality systems to give the user real environments as backdrops for his game and to make the user's senses perceive that he truly is one of the characters in the game.

Education - Augmented reality systems in combination with other technologies such as WiFi could also be used to provide instant information to its users. For educational purposes, augmented reality systems can be used to view a panoramic recreation of a historical event superimposed on its real-time background

Security and Defense - The military, particularly the Office of Naval Research and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency or DARPA, are some of the original pioneers of augmented reality systems.

Medicine - Medically, augmented reality systems could be used to give the surgeon a better sensory perception of the patient's body during an operation. This will result in less risky and more efficient surgical operations. The system could also be used in conjunction with other medical equipments such as an x-ray machine or an MRI to instantly give the doctors the information they need to make a medical diagnosis or decision.