AR vs VR: Which Has a Brighter Future?

AR and VR, these two acronyms decorate a lot headline publications in the last two or two years. Both have actually existed for quite a long time, but have only recently returned to the spotlight. Which may be the question, which of the two has the greater influence on the user?

In general, they both have a considerable impact on the way we interact with the digital world. However, AR seems to have a brighter future if you observe the latest trends.

What is AR?

AR or augmented reality, can be translated literally into augmented reality. Unlike Virtual Reality which actually presents a new reality in front of the user, augmented reality trying to fuse the real world with the world Interactive.

Ranges Pokemon Go, which was released last year, is a great way to explain the concept of AR. With the naked eye, it is impossible for us to find a Pikachu in a city park. But when viewed through the camera smartphone, will appear a number of Pokemon roaming around.

The environment (city park) is real, but the object (Pokemon) is just an illusion that can only be seen through smartphone, that's pretty much the simple description of AR. So far it seems that AR may only be useful in the field of entertainment, but in reality this is not the case.

AR Benefits

Apart from bringing up gender new in the field Gaming, AR holds a lot of potential in the world of work. A recent example is Ford, which uses HoloLens to speed up the car design process, allowing its design team to experiment and collaborate easily and quickly.

Another example is Google Glass, which was not too long ago re-released but especially for the circle enterprise just. No kidding, Google Glass' clients include big names like Boeing, Volkswagen, General Electric and DHL.

In the hands of these professionals, AR allows them to, for example, project a new front muzzle design onto a physical model, then observe any flaws and work on the revision right away without having to recreate the physical model.

In another context, factory workers who use Google Glass no longer need to carry around manuals while their hands are busy with something, because the application of AR technology in Glass allows all the information needed to be displayed directly in front of them.

AR is also slowly showing its spurs in need marketing. One of the most recent is Supercell, which utilise platform AR belongs to Facebook to promote one game best seller, Clash of Clans.

Another benefit of AR that is no less important is in the field of education, and this has begun to expand its development in the country. Startups from Bandung, Octagon Studios, it's been a long time to market flashcard AR-based which is designed to teach the alphabet, language and various other general knowledge interactively.

Still about education, there is an educational application called Muslim Card worked on by a number of employees from the studio game local Touchten with Ustad Wijayanto. In the future, the trend of implementing AR in the field of education will certainly continue to grow, especially with the exposure of event as Jakarta XR Meetup.

The ups and downs of the AR trend

The benefits that I have described above can actually describe the future of AR which is quite bright. However, there are still other reasons why AR has a very important role for consumers, even more important than VR.

The main thing is how AR can change the way we interact with smartphone or tablets, and at the same time still involving a number of physical objects around. I take an example Osmo Pizza Co., which is basically a fusion board game and video game, with elegantly inserted educational elements.

In this game, children aged 5 - 12 years will be invited to learn to run their own pizza business. But not like game simulation in general, interactions within Osmo Pizza Co. rely on a number of physical objects, from coins to fake pizza dough along with topping-New.

In my opinion, a game system like this can present the right portion between digital and physical interactions; children who play not only enjoy the content displayed on the screen passively, but also actively tinker with the various tools around them.

The question is, why is it only now that AR has become a byword again? Even though if you remember, Nokia had launched an application called City Lens in 2012, which makes it easier for users to find interesting locations around them by simply pointing the camera.

Ok, I admit Nokia City Lens is a bad example, because the app is only available for platform Windows Phone that proved not to sell. But the point I want to emphasize is, AR has shown its potential for a long time, but then it disappeared from the conversation and finally bounced back together with VR.

Then if you look at its development, AR can be said to be more advanced than VR. How come? One reason refers to the involvement of Apple and Google. Two companies in charge of two operating systems mobile devices The best-seller recently decided to get serious about maximizing the potential of AR.

ARKit and ARCore

Their brainchild is ARKit and ARCore, which simply allow iOS and Android to support the technology augmented reality in a manner native, without the need for extra components or special devices.

Before ARKit and ARCore, Pokemon Go was already able to run smoothly on iOS and Android. However, with ARKit and ARCore, the application of AR can be maximized because developer app and game can access its various functions in depth.

ARKit basically allows for improving the quality of object graphics Interactive displayed. This is because almost all the processing needed is done by the processor, so that in the end the untouched GPU can be maximized by the processor developer.

ARKit actually makes it possible developer for focus on content presentation without the need to worry about other crucial aspects such as tracking, because everything is handled by ARKit. This is also the reason why chairs and sofas Interactive that the app offers ikea place looks pretty close to the original.

ARKit is also the reason behind its emergence game completely dependent on technology augmented reality as The Machines, or be replacement animation effect rotoscoping instantly.

Arcore on the other hand can be referred to as the Android version of ARKit. Google previously had its own initiative for AR, namely through Project Tango. However, because it requires a device equipped with special components, Tango has not been able to control the popularity of AR.

Unlike ARCore, which is designed to run on multiple smartphone running Android OS version 7.0 Nougat. The premise is almost the same as ARKit, where capabilities tracking will be handled by the system, and developer just concentrate on the content.

Many predict that ARKit and ARCore will drive the popularity of the AR trend in the future. The reason is simple: both are instantly available on millions of devices, so status mainstream which will be attached to AR is actually just a matter of time. VR on the other hand is difficult to suffer the same fate as consumers are required to buy new devices.

The future of AR

in terms of , AR is actually quite mature thanks to the presence of ARKit and ARCore. But in terms of hardware, AR may still not find the right medium; hold smartphone and pointing the camera is not a practical way to enjoy AR.

Glasses or headset is one solution that is being pursued by many parties. One of them is a startup named Mira, who offered AR headset based mobile devices – Kind of like Gear VR, but for AR. Not only startup small, big names like Intel too starting to focus on AR, although so far what he did is still a mystery.

Elsewhere, there's Disney believing AR is more ideal than VR in the context of an amusement park. Disney has even teamed up with Lenovo to develop AR headset that special designed for Star Wars lovers, complete with motion controllers in the form of a lightsaber.

All of this could indicate a bright future for AR. I'm not saying VR has a bleak future, it's just that it may not develop as fast as AR, which is more widely accepted and adopted by consumers thanks to much easier access.