Augmented Reality has been around for a couple of decades. The first AR technology was developed in 1968 at Harvard when computer scientist Ivan Sutherland (named the “father of computer graphics”) created an AR head-mounted display system. In 1965, he postulated the ultimate display in one of his essays. He stated “The ultimate display would, of course, be a room within which the computer can control the existence of matter. A chair displayed in such a room would be good enough to sit in. Handcuffs displayed in such a room would be confining, and a bullet displayed in such a room would be fatal. With appropriate programming such a display could literally be the Wonderland into which Alice walked.”

Shortly thereafter, Sutherland constructed the first VR system. In 1968, he finished the first head-mounted display. Because of its weight, it had to be suspended from the ceiling and was appropriately nicknamed “Sword of Damocles” This display already included head tracking and used see-through optics.

In 1994, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill presented a compelling medical AR application, capable of letting a physician observe a fetus directly within a pregnant patient. Even though the accurate registration of computer graphics on top of a deformable object such as a human body remains a challenge today, this work hints at the power of AR for medicine and other delicate tasks in various industries.

Augmented Reality further found substantial development in 1996 with the introduction of Studierstube, one of the first collaborative AR system. In this virtual sandbox environment multiple users were able to interact in a shared space. Each individual user was tracked separately with a head-mounted display. Each of the users was able to watch the proper images from their unique viewpoints. Unlike other multi-user AR models, cures such as a user’s voice were not affected because the virtual content was added to the environment in a non obtrusive way creating a level of augmented reality of hyper realistic proportions. This system was showcased as a geometry course in 2003 and was successfully tested with actual high schoolers.

Until 1999, AR software was only available in specialized research labs, however, as time went on and more and more developers were exposed to this revolutionary concept, many found new uses for it. It was only in 2008 when the first usable form of a tracking system was introduced in smartphones. This opened up a new world for Augmented reality developers who now had an AR device in the hand of citizens all over the word! Dr. Chris Brauer of Goldsmiths, University of London, explored how this new generation of digital technologies are changing consumer experiences. Wearables have made consumers expect highly customized solutions and instant access to detailed personal data. And AR is reinforcing consumers’ appetite for compelling and creative visualizations of content. Dr. Brauer’s research shows that despite this increased use of technology, consumers do not want artificial intelligence and robotic digitalization in their lives. Rather, consumers hope to see products that seamlessly integrate into their lives. They yearn for technology that is human, empathetic and filled with emotional content. Augmented Reality has the potential to provide that human component in everyday life, in the hands of every human on earth!