The Evolution of Augmented Reality: A Brief History

Augmented Reality (AR) has become a widespread phenomenon, encompassing various sectors ranging from gaming to education, healthcare to marketing.?

But the history of augmented reality is longer than you might think. In fact, the concept of overlaying computer-generated images onto the real world dates back to the late 1960s, when Ivan Sutherland created the first head-mounted display, called The Sword of Damocles.?

Since then, AR has witnessed a plethora of advancements, and in this newsletter, and in this newsletter, we will take a glimpse at its significant milestones, from NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration 's X-38 spacecraft to the future of AR.

In 1990, Boeing researcher Tom Caudell coined the term "augmented reality" to define the integration of computer-generated images into the real world. Two years later, Louis Rosenberg established the first entirely immersive AR system at the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory.

In the late 1990s, NASA's X-38 spacecraft became the maiden utilization of AR for navigation and since then,?the technology has undergone a remarkable transformation. Let us briefly look at some significant milestones in the evolution of AR.

The year 2000 witnessed the launch of the pioneering AR game, AR Quake, where players were equipped with a backpack that housed a computer and gyroscopes, along with a head-mounted display.

The early 2000s saw the debut of augmented reality apps for smartphones, including the two-player AR game AR Tennis, developed for 诺基亚 phones in 2005. In the early 2000s, the first AR apps for smartphones surfaced, including the Nokia phone's two-player AR Tennis game in 2005. In 2008,?

In 2012, Blippar released the first cloud-based AR app. Four years later, Niantic and Nintendo launched Pokemon Go, the hugely popular location-based AR game that put AR on the mainstream map.?

The same year, 微软 unveiled HoloLens, an untethered holographic computer.?

?The number of AR users in the United States had hit 37 million by 2017 and was projected to reach 67 million by 2020. The growth of the market has been attributed to the increased usage of AR devices across numerous industries, including , , , tourism, energy, and many more.

Looking back, the history of has been marked by and expansion with many exciting developments yet to come.

Conclusion:

As we've seen, augmented reality has a rich history that stretches back decades. From NASA's X-38 spacecraft to the latest AR apps and devices, AR has come a long way, and its potential for the future is immense. As AR continues to evolve and expand, it will undoubtedly have an even greater impact on our lives and the way we interact with the world around us.