A demonstration of how AR layers objects onto the real world can be seen with augmented reality games. On the other hand, in VR the surrounding environment is completely virtual. Īugmented reality (AR) differs from virtual reality (VR) in the sense that in AR part of the surrounding environment is actually 'real' and just adding layers of virtual objects to the real environment. Similarly, it can also be used to demo what products may look like in an environment for customers, as demonstrated by companies such as Mountain Equipment Co-op or Lowe's who use augmented reality to allow customers to preview what their products might look like at home through the use of 3D models. Some AR applications, such as Augment, enable users to apply digital objects into real environments, allowing businesses to use augmented reality devices as a way to preview their products in the real world. Another example is through the use of utility applications. For example, in architecture, VR can be used to create a walk-through simulation of the inside of a new building and AR can be used to show a building's structures and systems super-imposed on a real-life view. In augmented reality (AR) the user is provided with additional computer generated information within the data collected from real life that enhances their perception of reality. In virtual reality (VR), the users' perception of reality is completely based on virtual information.
The overlaid sensory information can be constructive (i.e.
AR can be defined as a system that incorporates three basic features: a combination of real and virtual worlds, real-time interaction, and accurate 3D registration of virtual and real objects. Air Force, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (1992)Īugmented reality ( AR) is an interactive experience of a real-world environment where the objects that reside in the real world are enhanced by computer-generated perceptual information, sometimes across multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory and olfactory.