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The app then shows information about the nearby restaurants, stores and places of interest.
Star Walk app
Disney Research developed a coloring book with AR. After the
user colors in a character in the book, he / she launches the app
on the device. The app uses the camera to detect the character
that was colored. The app also uses AR to recreate the character
in a 3D form on the screen.
Coloring book
Virtual Reality
In Virtual Reality, we create a virtual world that users can interact with. In this world, the user
cannot easily distinguish between what is real and what is virtual.
In both VR/AR, people must wear HMD (Head Mounted
Displays) or a VR Headset like Oculus Rift or Google
Cardboard. The headset has two small video display
screens one for each eye. This creates the sense of
three-dimension. You can also wear headphones and
gloves to experience VR and AR. The headphones play
stereophonic sound or even 3-D sound so that you can
feel that you are hearing sounds not only near the ears but
also in various places all around you. The gloves have sensors to collect data about your hand
movements. This equipment and the software gives you interactive sensory feelings similar to
real-world experiences.
Both AR and VR provide a total immersive experience to the user. These technologies find the
greatest use in entertainment, sports/gaming, close interactive eye to eye communication and
aided shopping experiences. Imagine sitting at home and browsing through a store in London
where you can see and feel the merchandise you wish to buy. This technology is also used in
education. Imagine being a live participant in a historical battle or a student of anatomy in
medical school. You can really feel the battle or touch the organs.
We must remember that the journey of VR started in the 90’s with the Nintendo Boy but it really
did not catch on. Now the case seems different as the means of experiencing AR/VR has become
less expensive. Also, there is a lot more on offer and we are all connected all the time at least via
our smartphones.
Latest Technological Developments 59

