Augmented Reality: A New Direction in Education

Defining And Describing Augmented Reality

AR is a technology in which the real environment or object is enhanced by digital content that is tied to certain activities, places or objects. AR allows digital content to be mixed into the perception of reality. 2D or 3D digital objects such as texts, audio materials, animations, graphics and pictures can be combined with individuals’ perceptions of the real environment. These digital objects aim to aid and improve users’ knowledge and understanding of what is going on around them.

AR was first described by researchers in terms of specific tools, such as head mounted displays (HMDs). Zhou, Duh, and Billinghurst (2008) define the three main characteristics of AR as (1) the combination of real-world and digital objects, (2) which are interactive in real-time, and (3) in which the display of digital information is tied to real-world orientation. Höllerer and Feiner (2004) similarly describe AR environments as those which integrate “real and computer generated information in a real environment, interactively and in real time, and virtual objects with physical ones” (p. 150). Ludwig and Reimann (2005) describe AR as “human-computer-interaction, which adds virtual objects to real senses that are provided by a video camera in real time” (p. 387). Zhou, Duh, & Billinghurst (2008) describes it as a technology “which allows computer generated virtual imagery to exactly overlay physical objects in real time” (p. 387).