Augmented reality drives hardware innovation

USA: Augmented reality is the merging of our online and offline realities to create a blended interaction with the world around us. It is also the overlaying of data on top of our natural senses, be they sight, sound, taste, touch, or smell.

Semico is releasing an expanded version of the original report, Augmented Reality: Envision a More Intelligent World, that provides an in-depth look into this technology and its impact on the market.
 
Maybe you're thinking Augmented Reality is just for brand marketing or video games, but look at how newer technologies are embracing personal and environmental data to enhance user experiences. The automotive industry is integrating the dashboard into the windshield, sports companies are providing personal fitness tools, healthcare is providing more accuracy, and the list goes on for how Augmented Reality is changing our world.

This expanded version highlights the sensors necessary for Augmented Reality, and the current trends and limitations of the hardware, highlighting where you can be most effective with your R&D dollars.  

When working with Augmented Reality there are tradeoffs between wireless technology that assists in geolocation, sample rate (battery drain), sensitivity, noise, and accuracy (along with system complexity). These trade offs are why getting the right mix of sensors in the devices and using their individual strengths and weaknesses to help bolster the device can either make or break the consumer's perception of Augmented Reality.

By adding sensors the system, designers can create a feedback loop designed to force behavioral change," says Michell Prunty, Consumer Analyst. "The idea is that as information about a user's behavior is collected, analyzed, and stored, sensors provide the personally relevant data back to the user in an emotionally relevant context. This data illuminates the possible actions a user can take and provides them with the information needed to act with the end result being the readjustment of the user's future behavior.