Augmented Reality (AR) enhances the real-world environment by overlaying virtual information or objects onto it. You can see and interact with both, the physical world around you and the computer-generated elements such as 3D models, images, videos, or text.
For example, real-world products are superimposed with textual information. Or you place a virtual 3D model on the floor and can inspect it from all sides.
AR experiences can be experienced through various types of hardware:
- Smartphones/tablets: the current camera view is displayed on the screen and combined with virtual content
- Augmented Reality Headsets: With a transparent screen, you can see both the real environment and virtual content.
- Virtual Reality Headsets: Video See-Through AR captures the environment with cameras and displays it as the background of the VR view.
- Projectors: The virtual content is directly projected onto the real environment. This is only feasible for large installations.
AR has a wide range of use cases: Gaming, 3D planning, step-by-step instructions, education, device maintenance, marketing, and many more.
