The Future is Augmented Reality

Before we get into the so called, "perks" of Augmented Reality (AR), we need to understand what exactly it is. AR was coined by a researcher named Tom Caudell in 1992, and is basically a user experience of superimposing graphics, audio, and other features onto or over a real-world environment in real time. So what does this mean? It means that we can hold our phone up to a flat piece of land, and see the brand new house that will start construction in a few months. It means that women can test out makeup at a Sephora without actually trying anything on. It means that we can see what certain furniture would like in an empty room, without making the measurements or trying to visualize the colors in your head. It means...the FUTURE.

That's right, the future is here, and the future is in Augmented Reality. Ever wonder what glasses fit best on your face, but were too lazy to go to a Sunglass Hut at the mall? No worries, the Ray-Ban website has an Augmented Reality application called the Virtual Mirror, that lets you try some Ray-Ban glasses through your laptop's webcam. It's as easy as having a webcam, a wallet, and an address to send your new glasses.

Ray-Ban isn't the only one doing this, they're just one of the first to make this a feature through online shopping. Trust me when I say that this is the BASICS of what AR is capable of, and we as consumers have only got a taste of what's to come. Nokia has an app called LiveSight where you hold you phone to a grouping of stores and it superimposes images that hover over the buildings. Cool right?

I'm sure many of you have used the Snapchat app, the application where you send pictures or videos to your friends and they can only view them for a few seconds before they're gone forever. Well, the new update uses simple AR by superimposing filters onto your face.

This isn't a photo of me, it's some random picture from Google, but you can see exactly what the app is doing here. When he opens his mouth, a rainbow comes out. Why? I have no idea. There are plenty of different filters in this app, a few of which I like to mess around with. I personally like the "face swap" one, where two of your friends stand side by side and the app literally switches your faces (I would post a picture but they are far too embarassing). This app is a lot of fun, and these filters use AR in a very silly way. There are many real life applications to AR, though. As of now, many applications have not hit the market, or are much too expensive to test on our own. As time goes on, AR will indeed be the future of video games, real estate, shopping, and overall communication. Imagine online shopping where you can stand infront of your screen at home and get outfitted from head to toe. The future is here.