Merriam Webster defined Augmented Reality as follows.

Augmented Reality is an enhanced version of reality created by the use of technology to overlay digital information on an image of something being viewed through a device (such as a smartphone camera)

Augmented reality is an enhanced version of the real physical world through the use of visual elements, sound, or other sensory stimuli. It is a growing trend among companies involved in mobile computing and business applications in particular. Amid the rise of data collection and analysis, one of augmented reality’s primary goals is to highlight specific features of the physical world, increase understanding of those features, and derive smart and accessible insight that can be applied to real-world applications. Such big data can help inform companies' decision-making and gain insight into consumer spending habits, among others.

Augmented reality continues to develop and become more pervasive among a wide range of applications. Since its conception, marketers, and technology firms have had to battle the perception that augmented reality is little more than a marketing tool. However, there is evidence that consumers are beginning to derive tangible benefits from this functionality and expect it as part of their purchasing process. For example, some early adopters in the retail sector have developed technologies designed to enhance the shopping experience. By incorporating augmented reality into catalog apps, stores let consumers visualize how different products would look like in different environments. For furniture, shoppers point the camera in the appropriate room, and the product appears in the foreground.

Augmented reality uses the existing real-world environment and puts virtual information on top of it to enhance the experience. Conversely, virtual reality involves users inhabiting an entirely different environment altogether, notably a virtual one. Users may be immersed in an animated scene or an actual location that has been photographed and embedded in a virtual reality app. Through a virtual reality viewer, users can look up, down or any which way, as if they were physically there.

Mixed reality (MR) is the merging of real and virtual worlds to produce new environments and visualizations, where physical and digital objects co-exist and interact in real time. Mixed reality does not exclusively take place in either the physical or virtual world, but is a hybrid of reality and virtual reality, encompassing both augmented reality and augmented virtuality via immersive technology.

Mixed reality refers to a continuum that encompasses both virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR):

• Virtual reality immerses users in a fully artificial digital environment.
• Augmented reality overlays virtual objects on the real-world environment with spatial registration that enables geometric persistence concerning placement and orientation within the real world. Prior technologies that overlaid data or images not spatially registered to real-world geometries are referred to as heads-up display technologies.

Reference

Roles of AR

1. Take a few minutes to think about the role in which you could see AR playing your life or in the lives of others.
2. Discuss your thoughts with another.
3. Share your collective thoughts with the group.

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