History of Augmented Reality

Augmented reality (AR) is emerged in the last decade as a potentially disruptive technology capable of superimposing virtual objects generated by a computer onto the real world surrounding the user. By using see-through displays, AR systems make the user perceive both the real surrounding environment and virtual elements in a consistent way with regard to user point of view and virtual content size. The recent developments of low-cost AR technologies and mixed reality (MR) devices such as Google Glass, Microsoft Hololens, Vuzix, and many others are capturing interest of users and researchers, suggesting that AR could be the next springboard for technological innovation as also highlighted but its inclusion as enabling technology of Industry 4.0 paradigm. However, the AR is not as young as it seems. The concept of AR was formulated in the 1960s, and the first commercial AR tools appeared in the late 1980s. This chapter presents an overview of AR, the historical evolution since its first appearance, its usage in the most relevant domains including the emerging instance of Mobile/Wearable AR applications, the technical challenges in implementing AR systems, as well as main technological and applicative trends for the near future.