The Future of Augmented Reality for Your Android

Google Glass is considered a failure. Maybe the technology was ahead of its time, or maybe it was because no one could afford to buy it. Either way, tech companies are rapidly investing in augmented and virtual reality technology, counting on it to be the way of the future. As technology for this type of reality improves, and this technology becomes more commercially available, will these types of realities become the main way we “see” the world?

What is Augmented Reality?
Consider augmented reality to be exactly as it seems: “expanded,” or “supplemented,” reality. It offers a new way to interact with the real world in real-time. Through a device, you can “supplement” your reality with virtual video, sound, animation, or GPS data. Two examples that you may already be familiar with are Pokémon Go and Snapchat. Pokémon Go is an augmented reality game that allows us to “see” and catch Pokemon around us. Snapchat utilizes filters that enhance our reality by placing flower crowns on our heads, or turning us into animals or monsters.

Read More: PokémonGo and Your Privacy: What You Need to Know

What Can We Expect in the Future?
The future of augmented reality is more than just games. Snapchat, an app that has dabbled in augmented reality, will be releasing Snapchat glasses this fall. They’re called “Spectacles.” While similar to Google Glass, they are much more affordable, at about $130. This, of course, will increase their chance of success. These glasses will allow you to record 10-second video clips from the perspective of the wearer. Currently, the glasses are intended to record the world in a way that more accurately shows what their user sees. But if Snapchat’s interest in augmented reality is any indication, these glasses may soon have the ability to supplement our reality with similar Snapchat “filters.”

Augmented reality “glasses” already exist — think of Microsoft’s HoloLens headset in addition to Google Glass — but they are not widely available or popular. Or in the case of Oculus Rift, they’re used for gaming. Snapchat could change that — eventually. But not without the help of other companies investing in augmented reality. Facebook is currently working on augmented and virtual reality glasses, counting on them to be the ultimate way we see and interact with one another in the future. Over the next ten years, Facebook hopes to make these glasses commercially popular. They could potentially replace smartphones, televisions, cameras, GPS devices, and more. They could even become a type of a virtual reality assistant — a piece of technology to aid us in daily tasks such as driving. But is the world ready to accept augmented and virtual reality as an alternate way to see the world? If Snapchat and Pokémon Go offer any indication, we’re warming up to the idea.