You may have encountered the term 'Augmented Reality' through websites, TV features or on social media, but what is it exactly?

Put simply, Augmented Reality (AR) is the illusion created when you overlay digital content onto the real world, most commonly through the camera of a smartphone or tablet. The digital content can be in the form of a 3d model (imagine showing a dinosaur rampaging through your local high street for example) or simple text guides or instructions (could be used to identify a part of a machine on your phone simply by focussing your smartphone camera over that part). 

There are various ways to tell the device how and when to show the digital content too. You can place an object on any surface by tapping the screen when your device recognises the surface, or use images as a trigger (point your device at a brochure image to see it come to life or play a video). These days we can even use location-based AR, where simply being in the right place tells your smartphone to display some AR content (imagine how this can be used to reconstruct historical sites!)

AR is being used increasingly by major brands to bring their message to their customers in an irresistible way, and the opportunites are endless!