Lesson 9: Augmented Reality

After the launch of Poké mon Go, the craze not only swept the world, but also made everyone feel the charm of Pikachu and happy partners again, and also made all players have a deeper experience of augmented reality. But what is the difference between augmented reality called AR and virtual reality called VR?

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Cover it, not rebuild it?

The most basic concept of augmented reality is to let users directly or indirectly see the real scene where some elements are adjusted and added in real time. These elements can be computer-generated images, pictures, sounds, text descriptions, GPS data and so on, thus enhancing the user's experience in the real world.

Because augmented reality is to add other elements to the existing real world and still emphasize the sensory experience in the real world, while virtual reality is to create 1 completely virtual worlds to replace the real world, so the concepts of the two are different.

According to Milgram's definition of real-virtual continuum proposed by Paul Milgram and Kenno in 1994, the real environment and virtual environment are placed on both sides of the system, and the other side of the real environment is of course the real world we live in. As for the virtual environment, it can be understood as a virtual reality experience generated by devices such as VR head-mounted displays. The domain reality sandwiched between them contains real and virtual elements, which is called mixed reality. Among them, the situation with more real elements is classified as augmented reality, and the situation with more virtual elements is augmented reality.

For example, Poké mon Go's game map is based on the real world. In the game, the program will track the player's position in the real world through GPS satellite positioning, and mark the player's position on the map (whether in the real world or in the game). When capturing Poké mon, it can also cooperate with the camera lens to instantly synthesize the image of Poké mon into the image of the real world, thus improving the realism of the game.

▲ The game "Poké mon Go" which combines reality and reality is one of the application cases of augmented reality.

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Can a mobile phone provide a good experience?

Compared with virtual reality, augmented reality has another feature, that is, it requires lower computational efficiency, and ordinary smart phones can provide a good experience without expensive computer systems. Poké mon Go mentioned above is a representative example.

In the application scenario of augmented reality, AR tags, such as common AR cards, can also be used to enhance the intimacy of the interaction between fiction and fact. For example, the user can shoot the QR code on the AR card through the camera of the smart phone, and the program can identify the direction and angle of the QR code, and accurately project the virtual image to the relative position in the picture, so that the user can feel the unique experience of the blending of reality and reality.

Previously, Domino's Pizza also launched the "Hatsune Miku AR Concert". Users can open the exclusive App on their smart phones first, and then aim the camera at the pizza carton, and they can see that the carton in the picture of their smart phones will immediately become a concert stage, with Hatsune Miku standing on it singing and dancing. If users shoot from different angles with their mobile phones, the stage angle in the picture will also change, just like taking photos of a concert in depth.

As for real-time translation, it is also a very practical case of augmented reality. Take Google Translate as an example, it can translate things shot by smartphones into different languages in real time and display images in pictures.

Because augmented reality does not need a huge computer to calculate, the equipment can be made very small. For example, Google Glass is also one of the application cases of augmented reality, which can shoot the scene in front of you at any time, and display the information such as store information and map navigation in the picture immediately for users' reference.

Although augmented reality can't provide a realistic environment like virtual reality, it has the advantages of low system requirements and low cost. I think its development is worth looking forward to. Even if everyone doesn't wear Google Glass, they can translate instantly through their smartphones. Haven't you already met everyone's needs?

▲ Sony PlayStation game console also supports augmented reality. Players can see that although the game screen is an image shot by the camera, it gives people a completely different game experience after special effects processing.

▲ The AR concert in Hatsune Miku launched by Domino's Pizza gives people an immersive feeling.

▲ Augmented reality can also be applied to the visit of art galleries, and the detailed introduction of works can be displayed on the screen. (Image source: Wikipedia, this picture is marked with the name of CC-the sharing method is the same, by Kippelboy)

▲ Google's translation application can instantly translate the text (left) in the image taken by the smartphone into other languages (right), which can also be regarded as an augmented reality application.

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Examples of using Shuo Wen Jie Zi:

O: Augmented reality requires higher system performance than virtual reality, and smart phones can also provide a good experience.

X: If the room is too small, use augmented reality technology to double the number of platforms.

(Source of the first picture: Wikipedia, this picture is marked with CC name-sharing method is the same, provided by Glogger)