AR Cloud: Next-Generation AR Experiences

Augmented Reality (AR) is one of the hottest topics in today’s fast-growing technology. Currently, the internet speed everywhere has improved a lot and can be available much better than ever. Hence it directly supports next-generation AR experiences, such as mobile AR functions. Virtual assistants, smart navigations, map support, google earth, street view with dynamic loadings, etc. AR enhances real-world environments by adding computer-generated virtual features and perceptual information, providing an immersive experience.

History of Augmented Reality

AR technology has been around us since the 1960s, and its development started on a small scale. Until it was in the 1990s that the first practical use of AR came into existence. At that time, AR simulations are used to train soldiers for war. It was Louis Rosenberg who created one of the first AR systems, which is called Virtual Fixtures. But it wasn’t available publically to all due to lack of internet and smartphones.

When smartphones were available to the public very conveniently around the 2000s, AR technology gained more and more attention. Then, applications like Wiktude, ARToolKits, AcrossAir’s Nearest Tube, and BMW’s AR-based car manuals slowly came into existence.

One of the best examples of an AR game is pokemon go, which came in 2016, where millions of people around the globe can access features of the same app based on location. With the growing internet and 5G technology, AR has infinitely many applications that can be used in daily routines and make smartphones smarter.

What is AR Cloud?

AR cloud takes all the non-cloud environment of Augmented Reality to the cloud servers. This helps to form a virtual map of AR systems that anyone can access all over the globe, and the preferences can be set based on the location. This helps to collect and store more data than ever and brings combined AR system functions using that data. For example, the data on buildings, architecture planning, location of specific monuments, weather conditions, storm warnings, food distribution, etc.

IoT systems will be combined easily with the AR systems and AR cloud so that all the data collected from the smart IoT sensors will be used to generate AR experiences. For example, a sculpture artist can take images of the subject from all directions using smart sensors or different camera angles. Then the data can be sent to the AR cloud to make a fully functional 3D model. For using the AR systems, all you need is an internet connection. Hence AR systems can be accessed by just sitting at home from anywhere in the world.

What are the Different Types of AR Cloud Experiences?

AR cloud has significantly improved the AR cloud experiences with a seamless experience and user-friendly access to all. The following are the methods by which AR Cloud can improve AR experiences.

Multi-user AR Experience

This is where multiple users can simultaneously use AR systems to interact with each other. For example, different AR games can be played in multiplayer mode.

Contextual Information

AR cloud combined with smart IoT devices and computer vision techniques with AI will help to find what is happening in the surrounding environment, and that contextual information is sent to the AR cloud where they are processed with machine learning models and represented to us back using Augmented Reality.

AR Experience

As mentioned earlier, the AR cloud can produce multiple location augmented reality environments to any other location on Earth. Hence users can experience different environments by remaining in the same place the whole time.

Accurate Spatial Mapping

Another important feature of the AR cloud is spatial mapping, which is used in many map service providers like google earth and helps produce more accurate landmarks, satellite images, and terrain mapping.

Persistent AR Experience

As mentioned earlier, the AR cloud can produce multiple location augmented reality environments to any other location on Earth. Hence users can experience different environments by remaining in the same place the whole time.

Today’s Smart AR Experiences Applications

Many different AR applications are developed today and ready to use in daily life. Some of the famous AR experiences are −

• AR glasses

• AR advertisement boards

• Maps street views

• 3D terrain in google earth

• Healthcare AR

• AR gaming

• Marker-based AR

• Markerless AR

• AR Education

• AR filters on Instagram

• AR in tourism

• Path tracking and finding

• AR-based smart homes

Challenges of AR Cloud

A few limitations with the AR cloud can hinder the process of having a good experience while using the AR cloud features, as mentioned below.

Privacy and Security

As the AR cloud works mainly on the data collected by different sensors worldwide, it becomes difficult to handle such a big amount of data without losing it. Due to cyber terrorists, it becomes vulnerable to storing the data in one place and becomes a potential security threat.

Infrastructure Scale

Building up a large-scale AR cloud center is not easy because it requires high computing operating systems and high-speed internet connectivity. Even the developed AR cloud technologies by the tech giants face some difficulty in maintaining, handling, and interacting with so much data present and remotely making them available to each person through the cloud.

User Adoption

Skill can become an issue when it comes to some AR features, which require proper knowledge before using it by any other person.

Interoperability and Standardization

AR cloud is not just one technology but a combination of all other different technologies responsible for a marvelous result. As IoT, Blockchain, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence techniques, Computer Vision, Optimization, etc., makes the perfect user-friendly AR cloud application, hence its standardization is difficult.

Benefits and Future of AR Cloud

AR cloud is the future because it makes so many things look from a new perspective. You can just use an AR gadget for your daily purpose and enjoy things differently. There are a lot of benefits of AR cloud once fully developed and ready to use.

• Widespread adoption

• Advanced Education

• Dynamic Flow and Adaptive AR content

• Real-world context accessible remotely

• Worldwide range of features

• Advanced navigation

• Advanced road traffic management

• Collaboration and social interaction

• More opportunities for people

• Great impact on workflow in daily life

Overall, the AR cloud has the potential to revolutionize the way we are experiencing our current environment. This has some very exciting opportunities shortly for both the developers and its users.

Conclusion

Today, the AR cloud has covered a large distance, and all other technologies are ready to make AR cloud smarter than ever. For example, the flight radar application can detect exact live information about any flight flying in the air near the smartphone when the camera is pointed toward that flying plane. And many more features will be unlocked in different fields, including industrial, health, agriculture, social environment, etc., and we will have a better tomorrow.