A sister technology to VR is augmented reality (AR), which combines computer-generated imagery (CGI) with views of the real world. AR on smartphones has recently garnered widespread interest with the introduction of Apple's ARKit for iOS and Google ARCore for Android. Furthermore, the Vuforia AR toolkit is now integrated directly with the Unity game engine, helping to drive even more adoption of the technology. AR on a mobile device overlays the CGI on top of live video from a camera.
The latest innovations in AR are wearable AR headsets, such as Microsoft's HoloLens and Magic Leap. The computer graphics are shown directly in your field of view, not mixed into a video image. If VR headsets are like closed goggles, AR headsets are like translucent sunglasses that combine the real-world light rays with CGI.
A challenge for AR is ensuring that the CGI is consistently aligned with and mapped onto the...
