These are some of the best uses of AR:

A. Lessons / Classroom Use

Augmented reality is a great tool for educators, especially when used to augment lessons on complex or difficult subjects. For example, chemistry teachers could point their phones at a beaker and show the class how electrolysis works in the high-definition video while they hold up the actual beaker.

This application of augmented reality is beneficial because it no longer requires students to simply read from a textbook but actually see what is occurring via videos (or images) with life-like animation that cannot be replicated by static photos in a book. Instead of simply reading about gravity, students can now view the object's free fall via an Augmented Reality app and then record their predictions as well as commentary on it afterward using an app like Notability.

This ability to record students' voices and ideas gives teachers, parents, and administrators the ability to easily review learning during home visits or school-wide conferences. Augmented reality is also great for exposing students to topics they might not otherwise encounter in their schooling such as cyber security which can be a very difficult field for many young children to grasp. For example, using an app that combines virtualization with augmented reality allows a student to navigate through various computer systems on-screen showing them how they work visually before ever touching any actual hardware.

B. Product Design / Product Development

Augmented Reality can also be a great tool for product design and development where engineers can use AR technology to virtually build new or existing products as well as to optimize them for design considerations such as weight and space allocation. Additionally, engineers can use augmented reality technology when designing new products where they can experiment with various designs virtually in a real-life setting before ever producing the actual product.

C. Virtual Reality / Immersive Experiences

Virtual reality differs from augmented reality because it exclusively creates an artificial world that you can enter into and interact with. Augmented reality is different because its layers of information are transparent and overlayed on top of the physical world rather than replacing everything you see as virtual reality does by spawning completely separate digital worlds of its own. For example, there are "AR games" which superimpose characters or objects onto your surroundings; however, virtual reality games will spawn a completely separate and digital environment so that you can interact with it. For example, Pokémon Go superimposes Pokémon onto your surroundings whereas Minecraft spawns a fully functioning virtual reality world complete with its own history and geography (seen above).

Virtual Reality: Pokemon GO is an augmented reality game that overlays a Pokémon character onto the real-life screen while playing the actual game (Image Source)

D. Marketing / Advertisement / Consumer Engagement

Marketing firms are currently using Augmented Reality for consumer engagement and interaction by creating "AR campaigns", which place 3-D images of products into physical spaces in real-time as if they were there in person such as placing a Coca Cola machine in front of a store window or even taking consumers on virtual tours of a store before they ever enter it.

How Does AR Work? Virtual elements are added to the real world by using a mobile device and viewing software that utilizes an iOS or Android platform on its cameras. The camera then captures real-world images which are then transmitted to computer servers where they can be processed through high-performance graphics processors called GPUs (Graphics Processing Units) and analyzed for determining the location of various objects within the image. This information is used for generating 3D models that are programmed into the software in conjunction with GPS data so that virtual objects placed in front of you literally exist at those points in space.

E. Entertainment

Augmented Reality has also become a very popular way to be entertained. The most popular way is by gaming, however, AR games are not necessarily meant for entertainment purposes; they can be used as educational tools or even to better shop around for products.

E1. Gaming

The gaming industry is one of the biggest industries in the world which generated $108 billion in revenue last year and it shows no signs of slowing down any time soon! According to some reports, augmented reality will generate more than $120 million in market value within a few years from now and that's why it's such a hot topic right now! Companies like Nintendo are already using AR technology in their latest Pokémon Go release which smashed all previous records held by Candy Crush Saga . The AR game quickly topped the charts as the most downloaded free app in both Apple's App Store and Google Play being downloaded over 30 million times. The use of augmented reality allows people to explore their actual surroundings in real-time and interact with virtual characters that do not replace your physical environment; they are layered transparently on top of it!

E2. Gaming + Social Media

According to expert reports, a lot of gamers worldwide spend more money playing mobile games than they do on their mobile devices themselves! With such high demand, companies are now interested in creating games that rely heavily on social media networks for user engagement rather than traditional gaming platforms like Xbox or PS4. Because augmented is based on a screen, it can interact with other users in real-time via games that are downloaded from the app store.

E3.

 Augmented Reality + Sports / Fitness / Gym Users of augmented reality also don't have to depend on their local gyms or sports teams so that they can stay in shape! A new gaming platform has been designed specifically for people who want to work out more effectively and efficiently while having fun doing so: Pokémon Go. The game requires you to physically walk around your town or city collecting various Pokémon characters and battling them against each other (seen below). Because the game was released recently, there hasn't been any research conducted regarding its long-term effects such as whether or not it helps improve cardiovascular health, but I predict that it will.

E4. Educational / Training

Augmented reality can be used to help train workers of all kinds from factory laborers who need to learn new equipment, mechanics working on cars, health care staff needing direction on how to administer medications or even astronauts learning about the environment they'll be living in for extended periods of time! Because the technology is able to overlay virtual elements upon actual objects and surfaces in real-time people are capable of interacting with each other and using their hands just as if they were physically present rather than some instructional video found online. The image below shows an example of a surgeon using augmented reality to interact with his patient's CT scans while maintaining non-invasive + sterile conditions.

E5. Improved Productivity in the Workplace

Because AR overlays virtual imagery onto real scenarios, employees are able to see both their work environment and computer screens at the same time without having to glance back and forth between the two! This can help improve overall productivity within the workplace, but it's recommended that managers take caution because too much interaction with other workers might interfere with an individual's ability to complete a certain task properly.

F. Family / Social Life 

Augmented Reality is also designed for use in the field of entertainment. As seen below, people all over the world are having fun and interacting with each other via their augmented reality-enabled phones!




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