Augmented reality (AR) doesn’t receive as much attention from the general media as virtual reality (VR) does. This could be because it lacks the flair of the fully immersive world of VR or because VR has been a talking point and tech dream for much longer. The other reason could be that many people have a hard time understanding exactly what augmented reality is.
Instead of putting the user into a virtual world, AR technology provides the user with a tech overlay on top of the real world. AR technology is typically deployed through a smartphone app or through specialized glasses. The applications for AR are still being explored. Currently, these are mainly for entertainment or to improve people’s daily lives.
One of the up and coming uses for AR glasses is for playing games online. In this article, we’ll briefly discuss the history of AR glasses and the different types that are currently available on the market. After that, we’ll go over how these AR glasses can be used while playing online.
History of AR Glasses
The most exciting advances in personal technology have been happening in the field of smart devices. Smart home accessories are becoming the norm and most of us are already familiar with basic wearable smart devices, such as the Fitbit or Apple Watch. For most people, their first introduction to AR glasses was Google Glass.
AR glasses entered the market before the market was ready for them. Google released Google Glass in 2013 to beta testers, opened it up to a wider pool of testers in 2014, and sent the Glass back to be redesigned in 2015. By the time the improved version was released in 2017, people had lost interest and moved on. The initial confusion and frustration with the product had destroyed much of its credibility and made Glass a bit of a tech boondoggle.
This is unfortunate, because Google Glass – especially in its second version – was a big step forward in terms of AR technology. Now that the public has become used to the value of AR and the idea of wearable tech, AR glasses have begun to appear on the market and are steadily growing in popularity. While some AR glasses simply look like thick frame glasses, others resemble VR headsets. In general, however, designers have tried to stay away from making them look too sci-fi (sorry, Geordi La Forge fans!).
Uses of AR Glasses
There are many uses for AR glasses and as the tech continues to develop, these uses will expand. The first use is to provide an overlay of smart phone apps onto the real world. This can help with things like directions – if you can have the map overlaid onto the actual streets, you won’t make any wrong turns. Other app overlays allow users to do things like check prices at various stores in real time while shopping, or see notifications and breaking news without checking their phone.
AR glasses can also be used to expand the wearer’s field of vision. With AR glasses, a video played on a smart phone screen can actually be watched full scale on a wall. They can also be used to expand a computer monitor or act as a secondary monitor to make complex work projects easier to visualize and manage.
The last use of AR glasses is where we’re going to focus for the rest of this article – AR glasses are gaining a growing number of uses in gaming.
Online Casino Gaming
Online casinos are one of the leading online gaming platforms today. A big part of this success comes from the recent introduction of live casino games. Table games on LeoVegas have a real dealer who players can interact with.
These games have bridged the gap for casino fans who felt online casinos lacked the feel of a casino. AR glasses take that a step farther and make the online casino experience the closest it has ever been to being in a real casino.
Combining live casino games with AR glasses allows players to overlay the dealer’s table and their cards onto the world around them. With the volume turned up and the lights dimmed, a player can hear the click of the roulette wheel and see the bright green of the baize, and feel completely immersed in the casino world.
The security and dealers at traditional land-based casinos must be very concerned about the rise of AR glasses because they would be very useful for counting cards at the blackjack table. However, players attempting online card counting or other online casinos will have to rely on traditional methods – training their memory and working with a team.
PC and Console Gaming
The most basic way that AR glasses can be used with video games is to expand the screen so that you can play on whatever size wall you want. This immediately improves the immersiveness of any video game. Couple that with the built-in speakers that most AR glasses have and now the sound effects and music are right in your ears, heightening the intensity.
For games designed for an AR experience, AR glasses essentially allow players to play games in 3D on a projected surface. AR glasses that use reprojection instead of just projection can increase the clarity and quality of the graphics. This can improve the overall gaming experience.
Certain AR glasses have also been developed along with a specialized controller. When these controllers are coupled with the AR glasses, the gameplay can be very close to a VR experience.
On a related note, AR glasses can also be used to filter out blue light. Blue light has been shown to be damaging to eyes, and increases eye strain and stress. By filtering out blue light, AR glasses lets users play longer without risking damage to their eyes.
In addition, for people who get motion sickness, AR glasses have been found to be easier to wear than VR headsets. This makes it possible for more people to enjoy a virtual world without having to sacrifice their comfort.
