Augmented Reality Research Essay (Redo)
Augmented reality, commonly abbreviated to simply "AR", is a form of technology which can superimpose a virtual, computer generated image, video or other forms of visual media onto a users view of the real world; therefore, it augments reality.
There are a multitude of different things that augmented reality is capable of; one these functions include being used for games. A notorious example of one of these games which employs the use of augmented reality is Pokémon Go; conceptually first conceived in 2014, it was developed by the American company Niantic in collaboration with Nintendo. In the game, the player use their mobile phones to do various things including capturing, locating, battling and training these virtual creatures known as Pokémon; these Pokémon appear on the players mobile phone screens as is they were truly there with the player in the real world, a hallmark of the augmented reality medium.
Similar to Pokémon Go, there are numerous mobile phones which employ the use augmented reality, albeit generally reaching less commercial viability than Pokémon Go thus far; one fairly similar game would be EdiBear, which features a virtual character in the form of a bear. As opposed to Pokémon Go, which has a sense of competition between players, along with progress which can be made throughout the course of the game, EdiBear is instead a virtual interactive pet. Another variety of games which uses augmented reality is a multitude of tower defence games, including "AR Tower Defense" and "AR Defender 2". The premise of these games are simple; they are simply tower defence games, however what sets them apart from the usual same old tower defence games is the usage of augmented reality; the towers, buildings, weaponry, characters, vehicles and so on which are used in the game are "projected" onto real life; alas you can be given the illusion that you are defending a tower, a base of a variety of these whilst they are sitting on your very own table top or wherever the user wishes to project the game.
This is a prime example of the numerous different and alternative capabilities, possibilities and so forth of augmented reality. Augmented reality is a very versatile medium with numerous different potentials, which can be used in a multitude of different ways, from a simply visual aid to help with certain jobs and tasks, all the way to instead being a way of creating new methods of game play or enhancing other forms of entertainment.
In the future at least, augmented reality could provide an alternative and even a replacement for Satnavs; one concept which I can imagine will gain momentum in the future would to provide a car's front window with an AR system to manifest images such as arrows and signs onto the road and therefore serve as a guide to the driver, replacing contemporary Satnavs which instead have a moving map of the driver and vehicle's location with such signs and arrows. This may become a popular alternative to the current Satnav system commonly used to the driver no longer being required to momentarily take their eyes off the road and instead look at the Satnav device, or at least have to look at both items at the same time. In addition to this, the more "in your face" layout of the new Augmented Reality replacement for the Satnav would make the guides for more obvious to drivers and would likely be an easier layout generally. Similar devices already exist, albeit for different purposes; notably one such device would be the NASA X38 display. The display shows a video map with an augmented overlay, which includes obstacles and runways. This serves as a useful guide to the pilot on where to fly and not to fly, and serves a similar purpose for the potential future Satnav replacement, albeit for slightly different purposes and for a different mode of transportation.
In addition to augmented reality being displayed through ones phone or in the future something like a car window, it can be displayed via the usage of goggles and worn visors. There are numerous different pieces of headwear which is equipped with augmented reality technology. The key difference is that the "augmented" part of reality appears right in from of you, as opposed to being merely visible on ones phone or tablet screen, due to the headwear being attached to ones person. One example of a program which uses this form of augmented reality if Minecraft's Hololens, in which structures resembling that seen in the Minecraft games is literally right in from of you, and gives the visual illusion that it can also be touched and so on. The Minecraft Hololens demo gives us a peek at what could perhaps be the gameplay of the future; with technologies and games of this type being developed regularly, especially after the wide success of Pokémon Go, it shows that augmented reality could possibly go mainstream and one day be a regular feature in video games; perhaps it could one day even be a default for most games.
In addition to this, I can easily one day see theatre using augmented reality, to provide special effects or more surreal sets than possible with the usual budgets and resources they are generally accustomed to. Through this, there may be a rise in plays featuring different story genres, such as sci-fi and action which generally are rarely touched upon in theatre.
With all this in mind, my research into augmented reality has showed me the variety of different things which the medium is capable of, and as such, I was able to come up with a decent idea on what to do in terms of my augmented reality poster; I decided to have a black and white drawing of Stourhed, and when the Layar App is activated and scans the poster, a colour version of the poster appears, before font saying "Stourhead" comes up before the poster gradually fades into a real photograph of the location.
