Augmented Reality
Let us start with a simple example. Sadly, this example will be very relevant for India in today’s context.
It is 2025. You are a 26 year old female. You are working in an office. You use Augmented Reality glasses like Google glasses. On one particular day you were late from office. Your office bus had gone. So you are looking for the cab. Suddenly you come across a cab. The cab driver opens the cab door for you.
Till now let us understand what is reality? Reality is nothing but your perception about the situation.it is what you see and your other senses can absorb. So in the present case your likely reality could be
- The color of Cab is black and yellow.
- The seats behind the cab look disorderly.
- The driver looks courteous while talking to you.
- The driver is wearing blue T Shirt and Black Trousers.
- The cab is stopped at Connaught place in Delhi.
- The time is around 8 30.
- It is quite dark and expectation is to reach at home at 9 30.
The above understanding of the situation would constitute reality for you.
Now you press the button of your Google glasses which were in inactive state. It verifies the face of the person and scans the taxi and is number and start checking few of the databases and gets back with the below information
- The driver had been convicted of Rape earlier as per some public legal database.
- This Car has got Challans from traffic authorities 3 times in last week and in total 20 times.
- This Car has been refused insurance after damage since it was its 4th accident in 2 years.
- Your possible way to your destination includes a stretch of 1 KM which has jungle on either side.
- There were 3 murder incidents reported in that jungle as per daily reports in last one month.
Suddenly, your perception about the reality got “enhanced” from the earlier perceived reality. This enhancement or increase in your knowledge about reality is known as augmented reality. If you would see the word augmented reality is composed of two words Augmented and Reality. Let us understand these two words
- Augmented means the increase or enhancement or improvement or getting bigger, enlarged, getting better, amplified, greater than before, expanded etc
- Reality means your perception of actual situations around you.
Taking a simple combination of above meaning of these two words, augmented reality means increasing or enhancing the perception of conditions around you. In other words, you get a much bigger or greater understanding of reality around you. You are simply enhancing your reality.
Another example could be while taking photograph of a great looking building. Once you put your camera lenses in front of building, it shows that it is Office of Nestle. Now you don’t see a mere building but you know you are clicking the photograph of Nestle building. Your understanding of event undergoes a change.
How it is different from Virtual Reality
Some people confuse augmented reality with virtual reality. They are very different things. Let us understand the difference between the two
Virtual reality means building reality like feeling from imaginary things. You know that the situation you are in is unreal and does not exist but with the large screens and other instruments or tools you get an imaginary perception that things are actually happening for real.
Take the example of some 3D games in the big malls or markets. You are shown big screen and are made to sit on a chair which can move up or down. After some time you screen takes you a imaginary and dangerous rivers which is full of crocodiles and water is moving very fast. Your chair moves left and right. Some water drops also fall at you to get the feeling that you are actually in the river. You know there is no river but your sensory perception is created to give you river like feeling. This is virtual reality.
If you are in a game with a river simulator which gives you a feeling like going in a river, it will be virtual reality. But if you are in a river and one of the Google glass like tool shows you that water is 10 feet deep at a particular point, this is augmented reality.
Hence they have the following differences
- Virtual reality means creating reality like feeling from imaginary things but augmented reality means creating enhanced awareness about real things.
- Virtual reality needs some tools like big screens or moving chairs like objects but augmented reality can be done just by little more information.
- Virtual reality can be handled remotely but augmented reality does normally require physical presence on the actual situation.