Augmented Reality based Mobile Applications – The Future of Mobile Technology
Augmented Reality (AR) is the next big thing in the world of mobile technology in which the users will be able to experience the real world with computer-generated data overlaid on it. In augmented reality, the sensory feelings of what we see, hear, and smell are enriched to a great extent that it blurs the line between what exists in the real world and computer generated.
Augmented Reality works with smartphones and tablet devices that use GPS to identify the location and then offer computer generated data as graphics, videos, and tags that get overlaid on the real world through the lens. This can also be realized with a head mount display, as used in virtual reality.
The idea of combining virtual information onto real objects is not a new concept but has been in practice for nearly 20 years in sectors like defense, aeronautics, medicine etc. With the explosion of smartphone devices, the prospects of augmented reality apps has gone up with the availability of SDKs like Vuforia, Mobinett AR etc.
The AR technology:
The technology with which augmented reality applications are developed can be broadly classified into two types:
1) Location-based
2) Recognition-based
Location-based
Location-based augmented reality works with the camera along with other components within a smartphone. When the GPS along with the camera in the smartphone identifies the location of the device or the user, an application can be built to get the information 360 degrees around the field of view.
Few other components in the smartphone that helps in accomplishing this function are:
1) A digital compass: Also known as the solid state compass, this can measure the position of the user relative to Earth’s magnetic North Pole.
2) An accelerometer: This device can measure the changes in speed, orientation and inertial motion of the smartphone
3) A gyroscope: This measures the exactness of the accelerometer and corrects the disparities that are available in the conservation of angular momentum if any.
Recognition-based
This is a more complex form of developing AR applications.This method uses the in-built capability of a smartphone to identify the surrounding shapes and sounds through their digital patterns.
This methodology can be further divided into three sections:
1) Using markers
2) Marker-less Direct Recognition
3) Marker-less Indirect Recognition
Using Markers:
This works like a 2D barcode that is being read by terminals to generate information about a product. The LLA markers from Junaio can make use of the latitude, longitude, and altitude information and generate 3D content on which digital information can be overlaid.
Marker-less Direct Recognition:
In this direct recognition approach, images are not readily available to the application but are recognized in real-time that can be further digitized by the AR application. A user can use the camera of the smartphone to capture the image. The digitized information can be further used to generate 3D content which can then allow overlaying of images, tags and other computer generated data.
Marker-less Indirect Recognition:
In this method, data is provided by the user when the system reads the information without being fed into it. For example, Shazam is an application that can hear music from any source and offer information about the album details, lyrics etc. Marker-less Indirect recognition works along such an algorithm to generate data.
Comparing the explosion of smartphone devices, the availability of number of AR applications fall short, despite the SDKs that simplify their development. Our ebook highlights the market of AR applications, its various use cases and the related privacy concerns while developing AR applications.
To know more about AR applications development, download our Ebook.
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