By combining computer-generated graphics with an actual view of the world around us, augmented reality technology promises to provide developers with new ways to interact with users. Industry pundits originally saw these applications largely as gimmicks that didn’t have the ability to solve real-world issues. Today, however, app developers are finding countless ways to introduce AR features into almost every project they work on. No matter the industry the app serves, augmented reality can easily be developed into an app that will help improve customer experience and engagement.
Perhaps the first use of AR technology was in the form of a heads-up display that became popular with pilots and members of the space program. This projected information about the outside world and flight conditions directly onto a viewfinder. Over time, solutions that could put a display onto an individual’s helmet visor became at least theoretically viable. Video game developers quickly copied these advanced developments, and that’s among the reasons that they’re among the biggest users of these app development paradigms in today’s world.
Commercial and social software needs new methods of communicating concepts to users. Companies without any experience in the field can hire AR app development services to take care of every part of the coding process for them. Graphics rendering and display routines are usually the hardest parts to write when developing this kind of software, so it’s good to have experienced professionals on the team who can tackle any such problems.
Environment processing and object recognition libraries enable developers to figure out what things are in the immediate vicinity of the user. Once they do, their software can tell users more about what they’re looking at. Sensors located somewhere other than the user’s display can provide additional insights. Product pricing and lifecycle software have been deployed in production situations to help with marketing studies. Some technical and engineering programs are adopting them for much the same reason.
New tracking technologies have quickly begun to emerge as a result of these developments. Someone using an AR device would functionally see a video stream from their field of vision. Onboard artificial intelligence modules can then track physical objects the moment someone points their head at them. Computer programmers have found ways to provide AR users with additional information collected from gyroscopes and accelerometers. Aerospace technicians have come to rely on such equipment when it comes to training people to work with their gear.
Others have found that satellite uplinks and lasers are an excellent way to track someone’s current position and their relative direction. Creative designers could theoretically use that information to provide a real-time map or help users figure out how to get somewhere without having to pull out their smartphones. Markerless AR solutions don’t even require developers to come up with specific triggers, so they can dynamically place content wherever it makes sense to do so in the user’s view field.
Education market developers have instead elected to use more traditional 3D models and marker-based AR solutions. These can follow the rules set by specific pieces of courseware. Regardless of which method developers opt to go with, however, it’s obvious that there’s no shortage of new programming paradigms to experiment with.
