IDAT 204 - Augmented Reality

#bdat The final project for the IDAT204 module is based on Augmented Reality.  Augmented Reality or AR refers to the combination of the real world and computer generated objects or information.  There are a number different ways that AR can be achieved.  The most common of these is via recent mobile phones that are able to use software and inbuilt cameras to show the user an augmented environment.  This is shown in the image below:

There is also the use of Head Mounted Displays to which act like virtual reality glasses through which the user can see the augmentation.  In either of these examples the video image of the current location is input via a camera into a computer which then takes the information and layers the augmentation onto it.  This composite image is then shown on the display.

Augmented reality can be used for a variety of things.  The following is a list of uses for Augmented Reality:

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  Entertainment - games, characters,
  
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  E-Learning - books, pictures, 3d representations
  
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  Medical - pre-op, teaching
  
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  Consumer Design - clothes, hair, rooms?
  
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  Aesthetic - objects, pictures
  
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  Information - location, height, time, memos, interest,
  
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  Geographic - direction, location

The aim of any of these is to improve the users perception and understanding of the world around them.