Augmented Reality (AR) essentially bridges the gap between reality and the virtual world.

What is it?

Definitions found online describe AR as a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are overlayed or augmented by computer-generated or extracted real-world sensory input using sound and audio, video, graphics, and GPS. Similarly to Virtual Reality (VR), AR involves an artificial environment. The main difference between the two is that Virtual Reality completely immerses the user in the new environment whereas Augmented Reality allows users to experience both the real world and the virtual world simultaneously.

The opportunities in this field are plentiful as AR is still an emerging technology.

Umm…. What?

Most people are familiar with AR through the widely used game application Pokémon Go, the game allows players to catch fictitious digital monsters or Pokémon in the real world. The game received a lot of buzz and was credited with encouraging many young people to get active.

How Can I Create It?

There are many ways that users can develop Augmented Reality, but it requires a lot of knowledge and dedication because… like I said before, it’s still an emerging technology. Many of the bigger names in AR like Pokémon Go are practically building it as they go. One of the ways that we can develop AR is through an application called Vuforia. Vuforia provides game developers who use Unity the opportunity to take their 3D models and objects and create an AR environment by utilizing features such as image tracking, device tracking and object tracking to make your AR app usable on iOS, Android and A selection of Handheld devices.