AR you for Real?
In 1994 Paul Milgram and Fumio Kishino defined a Virtuality Continuum. This term describes the full spectrum of what is defined as being reality and virtuality. At one end of the spectrum exists a Real Environment/Object and at the other end a Virtual Environment/Object.
As the years have passed and technology has evolved there have been many entries that sit at varying distances from reality into virtuality. Everything from the humble video camera to the HUD’s on planes.
What seem to be most talked about recently are Augmented Reality and Augmented Virtuality.
Yes they are two different things.
Simply put, Augmented Reality sits closer to the Real Environment (a real environment is augmented with a virtual object) and Augmented Viruality sits closer to the Virtual Environment (a virtual environment is augmented with a real object).
Now that we understand the main difference between Augmented Reality and Augmented Virtuality lets look at popular examples of both. If you are still unclear about their differences then this should go some way in clearing things up.
Augmented Virtuality.
This has been around for donkeys years, the DreamEye and the subsequent PS Eye toy are probably the easiest recalled examples and their application is a great demonstration of the technology at work. They were both digital cameras that supplied visual data to the computer game console.
These AV (Augmented Virtuality) devices placed a real object (the player) in a virtual environment, using sophisticated visual and gesture recognition software to interpret user movement which in turn allowed interactions. Later on, audio and other inputs from the camera were also used to improve the effect.
Augmented Reality.
This is where things get fun. Augmented Reality (Not to be confused with the Augmented Reality Platform from Total Immersion) has been around for even longer. George Lucas thought enough of it to include his interpretation of the idea in Star Wars, the 3D projection of Princess Leia from R2-D2. This example of an early concept has set the stage for AR and inspired recent innovations such as SixthSense.
Before we get completely inundated with movie references, let’s get back to Augmented Reality and what this means for advertising?