5 Articles On Augmented Reality To Inspire You

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There is no doubt that Augmented Reality (AR) is cool, especially mixed with gaming. When Pokemon GO first came out I was one of those people running around Seattle trying to Catch Em' All.

For the past two years I thought about working on an AR project but I didn't really have a use case for it. I'd never use AR, VR or any cool thing in my actual job just for the sake of trying it out without a real use case.

In the past few months I've seen a lot more articles popping up on how to get started with AR (beyond using WYSIWYG apps). While I was at ATD TechKnowledge I was talking with Debbie Richards who gifted me some fabulous ocean themed AR tattoos.  

I was excited to take them to work to share with my colleagues. I knew it would be a fun activity to try out. We had a lot of fun with them and I shared the outcome to my social media.

It got me thinking, even though we're using AR for entertainment, when would be some good use cases to us AR learning and what are some ways others are using AR now?

So I started collecting articles. 

Here are 5 noteworthy articles on AR to help inspire you and get you thinking about how AR may apply to learning (and beyond).

1. Building an Augmented Reality Treasure Hunt with A-Frame and AR.js

I really enjoy this article on Women Who Code because it gives you a look into a real project they built that you can test out at home AND it includes links so you can create your own.

The idea for the creators of this project was to make an AR scavenger hunt that would help connect others to their workplace culture.

2. To Build a Bandersnitch: 3 Lessons in AR Storytelling

The article discusses different interaction types in AR, both passive and active. 

"Active interactions encourage the user to express clear intention, increasing their sense of agency and engagement—this is, after all, a choose your own adventure experience. Passive interactions are often triggered by conscious and unconscious physical movement."

It also talks about the use of audio, 2D, and 3D use in an AR world to help tell a story. 

"Audio and 2D assets are the workhorses of most AR experiences–important supporting players–the tone and character of a story is set by the 3D objects."

3. Are You Ready To Use Augmented Reality Or Virtual Reality To Train Your Workforce?

This article covers both Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality in one and touches briefly on Mixed Reality. I love the example that they give of a great AR use case. They cite that,

"AccuVein uses AR to assist healthcare professionals when finding a patient’s veins."

4. 5 Innovative Examples Of Augmented Reality In Action

I really like the variety of AR experiences illustrated in this article even though they are not all training related. The example closest to training has to do with the U.S. Army,

"The United States Army is giving soldiers improved situational awareness with the use of AR technology. The tech, called “Tactical Augmented Reality” (TAR), is essentially an eyepiece that helps soldiers precisely locate their positions as well as the locations of others."

5. 10 Real Use Cases for Augmented Reality

Here is another article with use cases for AR. Out of the 10 there are a few that relate to training such as topics on medical training, repair and maintenance, business logistics, classroom education, field service, and public safety.

What use cases do you see for AR? Do you have any relevant case studies you'd like to share? Comment below.

-Mel