Let's start from the beginning. As a designer and design teacher, I always tell my students and my team that if you understand the history, you will understand the present and will be capable to visualize the future.
Augmented reality (AR) refers to the use of technology to super-impose digital information onto the real world, creating a hybrid environment where the physical and digital worlds coexist.
The concept of augmented reality has been around for many years, and the technology has evolved significantly over time. Some early examples of AR include Radar Displays, Head Mounted Displays, Virtual Reality and Smartphones,
Let's go over of each of them. In 1950s, Radar Displays were developed that allowed pilots to see the location of their aircraft and other objects in the sky in real-time. These displays were an early form of AR, as they allowed pilots to see information about the physical world that was not visible to the naked eye. and ten years after In the 1960s and 1970s, Head-Mounted Displays were developed that allowed users to see computer-generated graphics in their field of view. These early AR systems were primarily used for military and industrial applications.
Smartphones is one of the most lasting technology in the field in evolution. In the early 2000s, the widespread adoption of smartphones and other mobile devices led to the development of AR apps and games that used the device's camera and other sensors to superimpose digital information onto the real world.
Today, AR is used in a wide range of applications, including entertainment, education, and industry, and the technology continues to evolve and improve.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Virtual Reality (VR) technology emerged, which allowed users to experience fully immersive digital environments. While VR and AR are distinct technologies, VR played a significant role in the development of AR, as it laid the foundation for many of the technologies and techniques that are now used in AR.
Some early pioneers in the field of VR including Ivan Sutherland who was born in May 16, 1938 and is an American computer scientist and Internet pioneer, widely regarded as a pioneer of computer graphics. In the 1960s, Ivan Sutherland developed the first VR head-mounted display, called the "Sword of Damocles." This device allowed users to see computer-generated graphics in their field of view, and it is considered to be one of the first VR systems. In the 1970s, Myron Krueger who was born 1942 in Gary, Indiana) is an American computer artist that according Wikipedia he is also considered to be one of the first generation virtual reality and augmented reality researchers that developed early interactive works and developed a series of interactive computer graphics environments that allowed users to experience a sense of immersion and presence in a virtual world. Krueger's work is considered to be an important early step in the development of VR.
Jaron Lanier born May 3, 1960 is an American computer scientist, visual artist, computer philosophy writer, technologist, futurist, and composer of contemporary classical music. In the 1980s, Jaron Lanier popularized the term "virtual reality" and co-founded the company VPL Research, which developed some of the first VR hardware and software. Lanier is often credited with helping to establish VR as a new field of technology and research.
In the 1990s, Michael Abrash Abrash who was a game programmer in the early days of the IBM PC. His first commercial game was a clone of Space Invaders published by Datamost in 1982 as Space Strike. He worked on the development of VR technology at companies such as id Software and Valve. Abrash is known for his contributions to the development of VR hardware and software, and he has played a key role in the evolution of VR over the years.
Today, VR is used in a wide range of applications, including entertainment, education, and industry, and the technology continues to evolve and improve.