Defining AR

AR is augmented reality. Augmented reality is taking some form of reality and changing it in a specific way to enhance the experience. What augmented reality typically refers to is as follows:

1. Sound:

2. Video:

3. Graphics:

4. Haptics:

5. GPS data:

This means that we could boost visual graphics of an object and view it in a different perspective than what we are accustomed to, or we could add something that isn't there. The video is a little bit different, as it requires the software to interface with specialized hardware, such as glasses, cell phones, HUDs, and other devices.

We could boost the auditory aspect of the world around us. We could take words we see in one language and have it say those words in another, or we could pick up those faint sounds that we always hear and tune out, then amplify them and really bring them to the forefront.

Haptic perception is a little more difficult, but it could be achieved with sensors that emulate touch. We could make something vibrate softly or harshly to simulate various effects, or we could make the game or application entirely touch- or motion-sensor-based. There are many other things we could use for haptic perception in applications or games. It is a field that is constantly being researched and expanded upon.

For GPS data, we can use the user's location to know where the user is in the app or game world. Another use for GPS data would be to know if something of interest to the user should be shown to them.

Because Unity3D loves to take care of most of the finer details of implementation for us, we don't have to worry too much about incorporating DLLs (dynamic-link libraries) or writing the wrapper classes to work with the majority of the popular AR and VR devices. There are exceptions to this rule, depending on the platform and whether the engine has been updated to specifically work with those devices.

Android and iOS are the most popular devices for applications and games to have AR incorporated into them, however, the various tech giants have been working hard to add more and more devices into the mix, with varying amounts of success. Some of these will obviously not have implementation with Unity3D, although you can write wrapper classes as previously mentioned, however, that is outside the scope of this book.