Augmented reality is invading your phone Don't say you don't know it is å•¥

Forget about virtual reality. At least for now, forget about it. As we all know, augmented reality AR is bringing the next wave of interesting new games to your cell phone. Apple and Google are trying to promote this technology, but what's new in the next wave of AR technology? Since Niantic launched "Pokemon Go", what changes have happened after you used your mobile phone to capture the elf? In addition, what can you do with AR technology later?

Augmented Reality AR is - adding some extra digital images in the real world, such as simple overlays, as you can see with Google Glass, while virtual reality VR is completely digital, completely isolated Virtual space.

Mixed Reality MR, the new type that Microsoft is currently keen on, is a hybrid of AR and VR. In this hybrid, those digital overlays are designed to be part of the real world. Of course, this requires High-end processors and powerful computing power can be achieved, such as Microsoft's HoloLens, you know.

But for Microsoft and other lovers of mixed reality, unfortunately, augmented reality is being applied more and more, and the limelight has even overshadowed mixed reality. Apple is using it, Google is using it, and most people simply don't care about the difference between computer graphics floating in front of you and the integration of computer graphics into the front scene.

Technically speaking, this wave of AR that has become popular on smartphones already has a mixed reality look. Imagine “Pokemon Go” in a more realistic form. However, since Apple released ARKit, Google released ARCore, we still use the concept of augmented reality here.

The first wave of powerful AR waves on mobile devices was brought about by Google’s Project Tango. Although Google entered this area very early, it still took several years to get the right sensors and computing tools to become adequate. Small and small enough to be installed on a mobile phone, even so, such phones are still very bulky. It is obviously a difficult task for the consumer to abandon the thin and light mobile phones only for such a technology.

Making AR have a higher standard performance means collecting a lot of data about the real-time environment. The powerful lens module like Project Tango device can certainly help, but if a mobile phone is powerful enough to be real-time By processing large amounts of data, you do not need to purchase such hardware modules for the basic AR experience. This is why we have only seen mobile phones that use standard cameras and sensors yet can provide high-end AR experience.

Although Google first put up the banner of the AR, it was Apple that used the ARKit technology released at the WWDC 2017 Developer Conference to promote a new wave. ARKit is "a brand new framework that allows you to create an unprecedented AR experience for iPhone and iPad", which means that with it, developers can more easily add 3D graphics to the real world.

How developers use ARKit is up to them, but Apple is already adding AR features to its map app. You can walk in your own city as if you were a giant 160-foot tall Japanese sea monster. In order to provide good AR effects, you need a phone camera that can recognize 3D space and 2D graphics, but Apple is more inclined to make these basic functions at the software level. ARKit applications can run on iPhone 5s or newer phones running iOS 11 (you need an A9 or higher CPU).

It is said that the camera also needs to make some optimizations. Apple said that the cameras of the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X have been tuned for the AR function. The iPhone X's front module perfectly supports perception of objects in a 3D environment, but it is not clear how all other 2D cameras on the new iPhone are optimized for the AR experience.

When images are captured in 3D, the effect is very cool. Such as Snapchat's facial filters, they can be used in any camera, but during the iPhone conference, Craig Federighi uses the iPhone X to show a more realistic filter effect, as if it was really on his face.

If Google or Apple has products that other companies don’t have, the entire ecosystem may be uneven, whether it’s a map application or a mobile payment technology. So we now have ARCore, which is basically the Android version of ARKit. The technology can determine the location of the phone and identify the surrounding environment so that developers can use it. ARCore is still in the open beta phase and currently only available on Google Pixel, Pixel XL and Samsung Galaxy S8 phones.

The AR App is nothing new, but the technology we described above allows the AR App to be more efficient when it integrates real and virtual. Although you can now use an "Action Movie FX" app to put a tumbling car in front of you, the car will soon be able to adapt to the surrounding colors and lighting conditions, but the new AR App can see the plane and the real world in front of you.

Previously when we talked about Asus ZenFone AR, we said, "I feel that every app is like a technology demo." This is the challenge that Android and iOS developers face now. They need to use new technologies to create attractive AR. Experience. During the new iPhone conference, Apple showed an AR game where the war took place on the desktop, but whether you prefer to hold a mobile phone around the table to play games or prefer to sit comfortably On the sofa?

"Pokemon Go" is an example of a perfect integration of AR into the game, and we all know that the company is developing an ARKit application that allows you to see the furniture in your home before you buy it. There are already some such apps (such as Wayfair has already developed AR Furniture App), but this wave of new AR boom can make these apps more accurate and practical.

Apple's Phil Schiller showed off an app that could put the sky's constellation in the right place. We actually saw this app before, but it improved after using ARKit.

You can see a variety of new apps, combined with the latest hardware and software, to make the AR elements more realistic than ever before, whether driving a car or ordering menus before ordering meals, or even using ARKit to bring the last century. 80's classic MV restored to real life.

Most of these apps are now in Demo phase, but you can easily see their potential. The game can appear in the real world, whether it is the floor of your room or your neighbor's home, and you can also add new furniture, such as sofas, to your home through your mobile phone camera, and you can even expand your house.

Later on, you can point your phone at anything and get superimposed information with unprecedented precision. For example, you can see the distance between you and the hole on the golf course, the athletes on the baseball field. The score situation, or when you get lost in the mall, helps you find the precise location of the shop you want to go. You can also measure distances and even launch a rocket in your backyard, etc.

Of course, the AR head display, or the MR head display can provide a better immersive experience, and it is more natural and comfortable than viewing the AR and mobile phones and tablets in front of them. But as long as these headshots have not yet entered the mainstream market, ARKit and ARCore will lead millions of people to understand the potential of Augmented Reality AR. Later, you will no longer look down at your mobile phone, but instead lift your mobile phone and gently slide it. Screen to get massive information on the Internet.

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