Augment, which means to add or enhance something is where the word augmented reality comes from.

So what is AR? Augmented reality is an enhanced version of reality, where views of the physical real-world are augmented with superimposed computer generated images over a user’s view of the real world.

There is also something called virtual reality which gets you to inhabit a virtual environment entirely, whereas augmented reality uses your surround environment and simply overlays virtual information.

Augmented Reality can in a form help promote your business, especially when you are promoting something like furniture for example, you could use augmented reality to show how a table or chair will look in a certain environment.

There are different forms of augmented reality:

Marker Based AR

Like a QR code, the marker will produce a result when sensed with a reader. A device with a camera is required for this to read markers.

Markerless AR

This is location, position or GPS based, because of the wide availability of smartphones and location detection. This form of AR is used mainly for nearby businesses and other location centric mobile applications.

Projection Based AR

This form of AR works by projecting artificial light onto real world surfaces. An example of this would be projecting a functional keyboard onto a flat surface or a 3D interactive hologram into mid air.

Superimposition Based AR

This form of AR replaces or adds an augmented object into real life environment on a device view. IKEA is a popular company that has an app for this so potential customers can place virtual furniture into their home before making a purchase.