Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience of a real-world environment where the objects that reside in the real world are enhanced by computer-generated perceptual information, sometimes across multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory and olfactory. AR can be defined as a system that incorporates three basic features: a combination of real and virtual worlds, real-time interaction, and accurate 3D registration of virtual and real objects. The overlaid sensory information can be constructive, or destructive. This experience is seamlessly interwoven with the physical world such that it is perceived as an immersive aspect of the real environment. In this way, augmented reality alters one's ongoing perception of a real-world environment, whereas virtual reality completely replaces the user's real-world environment with a simulated one. Augmented reality is related to two largely synonymous terms: mixed reality and computer-mediated reality.
Computer-mediated reality refers to the ability to add to, subtract information from, or otherwise manipulate one's perception of reality through the use of a wearable computer or hand-held device such as a smartphone.
Mixed reality (MR) or polyplexity is the merging of real and virtual worlds to produce new environments and visualizations, where physical and digital objects co-exist and interact in real time. Mixed reality does not exclusively take place in either the physical world or virtual world, but is a hybrid of augmented reality and virtual reality. To mark the difference: Augmented reality takes place in the physical world, with information or objects added virtually like an overlay; Virtual Reality immerged you in a fully virtual world without the intervention of the physical world.
lifeClipper is an augmented reality outdoor art project created by the Basel-based artist Jan Torpus in 2004, utilising an immersive wearable head-mounted display (HMD) system built from off-the-shelf components. It was presented by the new media art organization plug.in in the historic St. Alban quarter in Basel, Switzerland. The individual parts are: Portable computer, head mounted display, video camera, microphone, GPS sensor, compass and pressure sensors. When moving around, the system uses GPS co-ordinates to trigger images and sounds for the user, so that they may look at an area of interest and have impressions of the past for example brought up in their display. Many users have described the experience like living in a movie.
Humanistic Intelligence (HI) is defined, in the context of wearable computing, by Marvin Minsky, Ray Kurzweil, and Steve Mann, as follows:
Humanistic Intelligence [HI] is intelligence that arises because of a human being in the feedback loop of a computational process, where the human and computer are inextricably intertwined. When a wearable computer embodies HI and becomes so technologically advanced that its intelligence matches our own biological brain, something much more powerful emerges from this synergy that gives rise to superhuman intelligence within the single “cyborg” being.
A projection augmented model is an element sometimes employed in virtual reality systems. It consists of a physical three-dimensional model onto which a computer image is projected to create a realistic looking object. Importantly, the physical model is the same geometric shape as the object that the PA model depicts.
Lawrence Jay Rosenblum is an American mathematician, and Program Director for Graphics and Visualization at the National Science Foundation.
Marius Vassiliou is an American computational scientist, geophysicist, and aerospace executive. He is also an authority on the history of petroleum. Vassiliou is of Greek Cypriot descent and was educated at Harvard University and the California Institute of Technology (PhD).
Metaio was a privately held augmented reality (AR) company that developed software technology and provided augmented reality solutions. Headquartered in Munich, Germany, with subsidiaries in San Francisco, California, New York City, New York and Dallas, Texas, Metaio provided a software development kit (SDK) for programming PC, web, mobile and custom offline augmented reality applications. Additionally, Metaio was the creator of Junaio, a free mobile AR browser available for Android and iOS devices. On 28 May 2015 it was reported that Metaio GmbH was acquired by Apple Inc for an undisclosed sum.
Toby L. J. Howard is an Honorary Reader in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Manchester in the UK, He was Director of undergraduate studies 2011-2019. He retired from the University in July 2020.
Dieter Schmalstieg is an Austrian computer scientist, full professor, and head of the Institute of Computer Graphics and Vision (ICG) at Graz University of Technology. In 1993 he received a master of science diploma and in 1997 the degree of doctor of technical sciences. Currently he has over 300 peer-reviewed works which were cited over 20,000 times which brought him an h-index of 70.
Industrial augmented reality (IAR) is related to the application of augmented reality (AR) to support an industrial process. The use of IAR dates back to the 1990s with the work of Thomas Caudell and David Mizell about the application of AR at Boeing. Since then several applications of this technique over the years have been proposed showing its potential in supporting some industrial processes. Although there have been several advances in technology, IAR is still considered to be at an infant developmental stage.
IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the IEEE Computer Society. It covers subjects related to computer graphics and visualization techniques, systems, software, hardware, and user interface issues. TVCG has been considered the top journal in the field of visualization.
Ronald Azuma is an American computer scientist, widely recognized for contributing to the field of Augmented Reality (AR). His work A survey of augmented reality became the most cited article in the AR field and is one of the most influential MIT Press papers of all time. Azuma is considered to provide a commonly accepted definition of AR and is often named one of AR’s most recognized experts.
In virtual reality (VR), positional tracking detects the precise position of the head-mounted displays, controllers, other objects or body parts within Euclidean space. Because the purpose of VR is to emulate perceptions of reality, it is paramount that positional tracking be both accurate and precise so as not to break the illusion of three-dimensional space. Several methods of tracking the position and orientation of the display and any associated objects or devices have been developed to achieve this. All of said methods utilize sensors which repeatedly record signals from transmitters on or near the tracked object(s), and then send that data to the computer in order to maintain an approximation of their physical locations. By and large, these physical locations are identified and defined using one or more of three coordinate systems: the Cartesian rectilinear system, the spherical polar system, and the cylindrical system. Many interfaces have also been designed to monitor and control one's movement within and interaction with the virtual 3D space; such interfaces must work closely with positional tracking systems to provide a seamless user experience.
Gudrun Johanna Klinker is a German computer scientist known for her work on augmented reality.
GRADE is a CERN research programme. The programme was approved by the CERN Research Board in December 2015.
