Researchers work to make augmented reality more accurate

augmented reality research

augmented reality research

Augmented reality plagued with accuracy problems

Augmented reality has been around for decades, having first been developed alongside 3D technology. It has only been in recent years that the technology has managed to acquire a large amount of attention, however. This is largely to due to the hardware demands of augmented reality and the fact that mobile devices and computers have not been able to meet these demands until recently. Augmented reality is still faced with limitations, however, which researchers from the National Science Foundation (NSF) are working to solve.

Researchers aim to improve depth perception of technology

NSF researchers, along with scientists from the Mississippi State University, are working on improving the depth perception of augmented reality systems. Augmented reality is often billed as a way to enhance everything in the world with digital content, but this is not always the case. The technology has shown trouble recognizing objects at a distance and accurately calculating distances. As such, the use of augmented reality has been somewhat limited. Researchers are working on improving the accuracy of the technology in order to expand its use.

Subtle problems limit the use of augmented reality

One of the most significant problems facing augmented reality systems today is their ability to align digital displays with real world markers. Conventional systems typically estimate where digital content will go, using a marker as a guide. Because these estimates are rarely accurate, the augmented reality system has to constantly adjust the position of a digital display, making viewing such content difficult, at times. Researchers aim to help augmented reality systems make more accurate estimations by improving the way they look at the real world. If successful, researchers may be able to have augmented reality systems display content in the right place on the first try.

Improved accuracy could make the technology more attractive

While the faults of conventional augmented reality systems go largely unnoticed because of the technology’s use in entertainment and marketing, these problems have kept augmented reality away from more practical pursuits. Researchers suggest that improvements in the depth perception of augmented reality could have profound implications of the technology’s use in the medical field as well as others that rely on high levels of accuracy.

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