Introduction to Augmented Reality
Augmented reality (AR) was first introduced in a 1965 white paper by Ivan Sutherland, titled "The Ultimate Display." However, it wasn’t until the widespread use of smartphones that AR became a possibility. Smartphones provided the vital combination of low cost sensors, powerful processors, and high-bandwidth networking, making it possible for AR to generate its spatial illusions.
How AR Works
Unlike virtual reality (VR), which creates a totally synthetic experience, AR adds to the user’s perception of their environment. To do that effectively, AR systems have to know where the user is situated in space. While VR systems originally used expensive and fragile systems for tracking user movements, the brand new generation of VR uses a set of techniques called simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM). These systems use observational data from cameras, sonar, lidar, structured light, and time-of-flight sensors to update a repeatedly evolving model of the user’s spatial environment.
The Difference Between AR and VR
One key difference between AR and VR is that AR doesn’t hide the actual world, so people can use it anywhere. This is significant since the purpose of AR is so as to add helpful or entertaining digital illusions to the user’s perceptions. However, AR also has a second, less appreciated facet: it functions as a classy mobile surveillance system.
The Concerns Surrounding AR
Facebook’s recent Project Aria experiment has raised concerns in regards to the potential for AR for use as a surveillance tool. The project involves packing the sensors vital for SLAM right into a pair of sunglasses, which collect copious amounts of knowledge that’s fed back to Facebook for evaluation. This has led to concerns that when AR glasses grow to be available, they are going to transform users into data-gathering minions for Facebook, mapping the contours of the world and all its inhabitants.
The Implications of AR Surveillance
The prospect of such intensive surveillance at a planetary scale poses tough questions on who can be doing the watching and why. To work well, AR must leaf through our eyes, see the world as we do, and record what it sees. This raises concerns about whether we’d welcome such pervasive monitoring and why we must always trust AR providers to not misuse the knowledge they collect.
Conclusion
As AR technology continues to develop, it’s essential to contemplate the potential risks and implications of its use. We have to ask ourselves whether we’re comfortable with the extent of surveillance that AR enables and whether we are able to trust providers to make use of the info they collect responsibly. By having an open and honest discussion about these issues, we are able to be certain that AR is developed and utilized in a way that advantages society as an entire, fairly than simply a select few. Ultimately, it’s as much as us to choose when and the way we allow AR surveillance to occur, and to allow it only when vital.
