Augmented reality (AR) is the integration of digital information with the user's environment in real time. Unlike virtual reality (VR), which creates a totally artificial environment, AR users experience a real-world environment with generated perceptual information overlaid on top of it.
Augmented reality has a variety of uses, from assisting in the decision-making process to entertainment. AR is used to either visually change natural environments in some way or to provide additional information to users. The primary benefit of AR is that it manages to blend digital and three-dimensional (3D) components with an individual's perception of the real world.
AR delivers visual elements, sound and other sensory information to the user through a device like a smartphone, glasses or a headset. This information is overlaid onto the device to create an interwoven and immersive experience where digital information alters the user's perception of the physical world. The overlaid information can be added to an environment or mask part of the natural environment.
Boeing Computer Services, Research and Technology employee Thomas Caudell coined the term augmented reality in 1990 to describe how the head-mounted displays that electricians use when assembling complicated wiring harnesses worked. One of the first commercial applications of augmented reality technology was the yellow first-down marker that began appearing in televised football games in 1998.