Concept and practical consideration of Augmented Reality

allazarr
Jan 20, 2021
3 min read

Augmented Reality is a way of looking at the holograms described in science fiction movies. The whole concept of seeing objects, persons, and locations projected in mid-air is one of the closest concepts to a holographic world. However, with the current limitations of the technology and the incapability to project light in mid-air, AR is coming with a revolutionary solution that can change fundamentally the way we see the world around us.

Right now, we are limited to our smartphone, the only gate through digital augmentation. We are bounded with our smartphone for more than 12 hours a day and yet, we need more than only a piece of tech to fully immerse ourselves into the digital world. Once the AR Glasses are launched, the Augmented industry will explode with lots of new applications and new assets to explore.

The furniture market already embraced the new Augmented technology transforming their products into 3D meshes that can be projected into their customer's homes. Having this tool at their fingertips, the clients can test, try and visualize any furniture right from their comfort minimizing the possibility of error. There are advantages on both sides, Ikea for example can deliver their products, make market research and avoid crowding their stores using Augmented Reality. On the other side, the customers can test and order their products much quicker. On special occasions such as the current Covid-19 pandemic, big brands can deliver the in-store experience to their customer's homes. John Lewis developed both a

Virtual and Augmented reality app during the pandemic in order to deliver the full experience to their customers contact-free. In the national crises like the current one, stores and small businesses are one of the main to suffer. Immersive technology is the answer for most of their problems as this way of distributing media is not only covering the marketing aspect but the sales, logistics, and management.

Inspired by their approach to the technology and the current stressful situation I decided to create a prototype to match both aspects. My prototype is formed by two important elements, design and functionality.

The Design of the prototype is inspired by the "Perpetuum mobile" concept and design. "A Perpetuum mobile is a hypothetical machine that can do work infinitely without an energy source. This kind of machine is impossible, as it would violate the first or second law of thermodynamics. Also, this machine needs to only rely on the

Perpetuum motion, the power consumed to be equal with the power generated." (Angrist, Stanley, 1968). This concept is physically impossible. However, designers around the world tried to create a prototype to illustrate this concept. Being so difficult to define, this subject caught the attention of most people.

The second part of the prototype is the functionality of the project and its effect on the consumer's lives. This pendulum solves the physical problem and can be easily considered a digital Perpetuum mobile machine. The whole concept behind the machine is that is reduced only to a digital form can serve as a relaxation tool. For example, most of the well-known name "satisfying movement" formed you find online resembles something similar to a pendulum or a Perpetuum mobile. The constant movement of both pendulums in tandem between a small gap triggers a reaction in our brain that can release stress and change the mood. (Craig Richard, 2015)

My prototype relates to stressed people which are having a complicated life full of challenges. This is a prototype that promises to deliver you a short term relaxation and a little escape into the digital world. The prototype is formed of 2 identically pendulums which are swinging at a constant speed through a small gap into a spinning circle. This effect delivers a maximum rate of enjoyment for a target audience covering all ages. It is easy to be accessed as you need only a smartphone with a camera and an Android OS 7+.