Augmented Reality (AR)
Last Updated: July 29, 2026 | By Mihail Sebastian | AI Dictionary
A technology that overlays digital content such as images, labels, and 3D objects onto a live view of the real world through phones or smart glasses.
What is Augmented Reality (AR)?
Augmented reality (AR) overlays digital content, such as images, labels, or 3D objects, onto a live view of the real world, experienced through a phone, tablet, or smart glasses. Unlike virtual reality, which replaces your surroundings, AR adds to them.
Modern AR leans on AI. Computer vision models detect surfaces, track motion, and recognize objects so that digital content stays anchored to the physical scene as the viewer moves.
Types of Augmented Reality
- Marker-based AR: A physical marker, such as a QR code, triggers the content and anchors its position.
- Markerless AR: The device maps its surroundings with cameras, motion sensors, and GPS, and places content anywhere in the scene.
- Projection-based AR: Images are projected directly onto physical surfaces, so no screen sits between the viewer and the content.
Applications of Augmented Reality
- Retail: Furniture and eyewear apps let customers preview a product in their own room or on their own face before buying.
- Education and training: Anatomy, machinery, and architecture render as interactive 3D models a student can walk around.
- Industrial maintenance: Technicians see repair instructions overlaid on the exact machine part in front of them.
Example of Augmented Reality
Pokémon GO, released in 2016, is still the best-known markerless AR application. The game reads the phone’s GPS position to decide which virtual creatures are nearby, then opens the camera view and uses the phone’s motion sensors to place a creature so it appears to stand in the real scene.
The player sees their actual street with a cartoon monster on the sidewalk and flicks the screen to catch it. No marker and no headset: the phone’s camera, sensors, and screen carry the whole experience.
Related AI terms: Computer Vision · Object Detection · Image Recognition · Internet of Things
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Mihail Sebastian — Writes about AI governance, regulation, and the technology behind them. Placeholder bio — replace with a real credential line. About