We humans have always strived for betterment. We always want to improve something and mould it according to our needs and requirements. This has let us use technology in thousands of ways, sometimes we failed too, but succeeded a lot number of times. Now, we have come that far that we are using technology to digitally modify or enhance our perception of the real world. This is actually “Augmented Reality” abbreviated as AR.
Do not mix it with Virtual Reality (VR). In VR, we are replacing the real world with a simulated one, but with Augmented Reality, we’ll see the world around us through different filters and layers with some kind of contextual information that will help us to better navigate our world in real-time and enrich our reality.
Have a look at this video. This short film simply tries to create a vision inside you that how will Augmented Reality will be by the next decade. It’s really interesting. Watch it!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lK_cdkpazjI&feature=emb_logo
Let us now take an example of Augmented Reality glasses. Wearing AR glasses will improve eyesight beyond 20/20, will allow us to see through walls, and to browse the web as if we are looking at a screen floating in midair. Just like wizards, this will allow us to conjure up digital 3D laptops with a blink of an eye.
This is not imaginary. They will allow us to automatically translate written text and even sign language from the deaf, show us travel instructions as we walk and drive to our daily appointments. These are just a few examples of AR’s many applications.
Now, the question arises “When will Augmented Reality (AR) actually become a reality and is widely used across the world?”
The answer lies in the fact that it’s is in the experimenting phase and before going fully mainstream, we are looking for its use-cases in future gaming consoles, advertising and educational applications.
Why this mind-boggling technology is taking much time to make its grand entry in this fast-paced technological world?
There are a number of factors that are blocking AR’s widespread adoption. Some are technical while some others are cultural factors.
Let’s first have a look to a few some major technical factors that are acting as a hindrance:
1. There is some problem with latency: Basically how fast AR will work. If there’s too much lag time between where your eyes glance and the visual data which is presented to you by your device, AR will begin to feel like a hassle to use and it may also cause headaches and dizziness.
2. One of the important factors is limited internet connectivity. We will witness an enormous increase in web traffic, as AR devices will frequently exchange huge amounts of data with their surroundings to offer real-time visual information to its users.
Now, let’s have a look at some of the cultural factors:
1. The biggest cultural hurdle ahead of AR will most likely be the disconnect between generations. Just like how senior citizens sometimes struggle with the Internet and using smartphones, in the same way, the current generation of hyper-connected smartphone users will find using AR technology too confusing and cumbersome to bother with.
2. Another factor is of privacy. As we are constantly providing our personal details to the public all day long, it becomes scary that what kind of data is going where and how much your own privacy is maintained.
In the end, what I want to mention here is that, through AR, future Internet users will be trained to process and manage huge amounts of web data visually and intuitively. They will enter a completely new world where they will view and interact with the real and virtual worlds. This is important because what comes after AR could change what it means to be human. Let’s see how it goes!!
