Visions of the future
Back in 2016, Pokémon GO took the world by storm and popularized a medium that the masses were not familiar with. I myself enjoyed this Augmented Reality(AR) game based off one of the most popular franchises in the world and within me brewed these questions of how far we could bring Extended Reality(XR) into our lives; seeing it being used not only in the field of entertainment, but also as part of our daily lives.
Keiichi Matsuda depicted in his video titled “HYPER-REALITY” a rather bleak image of an augmented world. It was saturated with media content and advertisements harassing the user, but it also showed what could be of our future. Curated advertisements catered to our needs and wants, holographic face to face phone calls, visual guides seamlessly immersed into our world and a lot more. Each time I watch his video I notice more and more, most of which I would love to see in the future.
Of course, the world I envisioned would not be as cluttered and hectic (or at least I’m hoping it does not turn out that way).
Under the Umbrella
XR is an umbrella term that encompasses the immersive technologies that we are familiar with today — Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR) and Mixed Reality (MR).
Augmented Reality
In AR, virtual objects would be overlaid or superimposed on the real world. An experience which one could experience through AR Glasses like Google's Glass and a device that is practically inseparable for many of us — our phones.
Niantic's Pokémon GO is the most popular experience available to us today. In Pokémon GO, digital creatures known as Pokémon from the popular franchise Pokémon are overlaid on our world providing their players with a new view of their world; one filled with these digital creatures.
We see facial overlaying being used in applications that we are so familiar with; Snapchat and Instagram. Snapchat introduced the world to AR filters, allowing users to overlay virtual objects and masks. They also took their game up one level by introducing World Lenses, in which the user would be able to place 3D virtual objects in the real world and even have the joy of experience new lenses daily.
AR on our mobile phones today are no longer just overlaying virtual objects onto the real world. With advancements made on development kits such as ARKit and ARCore, we are now able to experience a more immersive augmented world. The use of concepts like face tracking, motion tracking, light estimation and environmental understanding allow the objects to be anchored to the real world and provide a more immersive experience.
Today, a coding background is not even needed to create AR experiences. SparkAR is a platform that allows its users to create AR effects for mobile phone cameras and publish them to be used for Facebook and Instagram stories.
AR is not used only used for entertainment but is used in other areas such as marketing and education.
Wanna Kicks offers users a new shopping experience, allowing them to instantly try on various footwear and purchase it after. Gone are the days where you would regret buying shoes and end up selling them.
BK Brazil ran a promo campaign for their app. Users could point their phone at their competitor's ads and "burn" them through the magic of augmented reality and be rewarded with a free Whopper.
DAQRI's Elements 4D aims to act as a chemistry study aid. Users can scan cubes with different elements on each face and put the cubes together to see a simulated chemical reaction that occurs and what would result of it.
These are just barely scratching the surface of what has already been accomplished with AR to this date. Many other AR experiences are available, ready to augment our mundane day to day experiences and also act as a steppingstone for what is to come in the future of AR.
Virtual Reality
Looking through the lens of Virtual Reality offers its users an escape from reality, immersing them in virtual environments and situations. VR has become a popular means of transporting people from their living rooms to a variety of simulations and experiences. All it takes is putting on a headset.
With the abundance of VR headsets available to us today comes the many experiences developed for our enjoyment.
Ever wanted to commandeer the U.S.S. Aegis from the beloved Star Trek universe? Or perhaps you would like to be an engineer on-board the U.S.S Aegis? Well, Start Trek: Bridge Crew allows you to do just that. The VR game places the player in the U.S.S Aegis as an officer of the federation, leaving you to an unexplored sector of space to experience brave adventures and discovering wonders kept secret by space itself.
Today we have a new transformative means of surgical training and assessment. In a constantly expanding world with rising populations, it is important to meet the demand for surgeons. OSSO VR introduces a platform for the modern age, using VR to immerse aspiring surgeons in hands-on experiences that culminates them in the field of surgery. This allows for some resources and manpower used in training to be allocated elsewhere.
VR offers itself as a versatile platform that could either immerse one in a world so far from reality or a simulation resembling reality itself. Or you could just pop a headset on and literally slash beats of your favourite music as they fly towards you (See Beat Saber).
Mixed Reality
Between the streets of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality is a junction; the Mixed Reality junction. The best of both worlds. In MR, we see virtual objects within our real-world space and even interacting with the real world.
To better explain this blend...
I am not going to lie; MR is my favourite medium because it aligns with my visions of the future. The use of such technologies in non-entertainment fields such as the medical fields and the field of engineering.
Cleveland Clinic and Microsoft collaborates to explore and demonstrate how data and models can be aligned to what surgeons see providing a more detailed and guided method of learning and practice. It may not be the most accurate now, due to limitations of technology today, but in the future, we would indeed see actual surgeries itself assisted with similar concepts.
Trimble Connect; a platform available on Microsoft's Hololens allows people involved on various aspects of construction projects to work together in greater detail. Aside from accurate visual layout of the project, data is also communicated actively, creating a whole new dynamic way to collaborate.
Baby steps towards the future
As we focus ahead on what lies on the future, Focals by North offers to the world "stylish prescription smart glasses" - bespoke glasses equipped with a display private to your view and your view only. Whilst you seem to be strutting down the street sporting a stylish pair of custom-made glasses, you enjoy a private view of a Heads-Up-Display floating before your very eyes. This display displays information such as messages, notifications and the weather. It may not be a perfect step, but baby steps have always been imperfect, right?
As I conclude this, I would like to invite anyone reading this to join me in envisioning what our future could be as such technologies continue to improve, develop and immerse itself into our lives.