Augmented Reality (AR)

AR keeps the real world in view and adds to it.

A 3D model, a set of instructions or a label is held in place over what a person is already looking at. Virtual reality replaces the real world; AR annotates it.

For a fuller explanation of how AR works and where it is used, see What is augmented reality?

A printed model gains an augmented-reality layer, seen through a phone held over the page.

Two hands rest on the edge of a real table in a dark room while a glowing sphere, cube and pyramid hover just above its surface. — Shapes resting above a real tabletop.

What AR adds

The table stays. Something new sits on it.

Augmented reality leaves the room as it is and adds one thing to it: a model on the bench, a step marked on the machine, a story attached to the artwork on the wall.

The person keeps their hands, their colleagues and the rest of the room in view the whole time.

That is what makes it easy to use in a working space. Nobody has to be led anywhere or handed a controller before the thing they came to look at appears in front of them.

Calling a twin from a card. A VR training scenario for augmented reality. — Calling a twin from a card.

AR compared with VR and MR

AR keeps the real world in view.

AR Applications are one of PTR's custom-build capabilities on Labs: interactive overlays that bring print materials, physical environments and artwork to life. AR adds to the physical environment through a phone, tablet or headset camera, instead of replacing it with a simulation.

The choice between VR, AR and MR depends on how much of the physical world a person needs to see while working. Extended Reality (XR) is the umbrella term for the three technologies.

	VR	AR	MR
Physical world visible?	No, fully replaced	Yes, overlaid on top	Yes, digital objects interact with it
Typical hardware	Standalone headset	Phone, tablet or AR glasses	Passthrough or see-through headset
Common use in PTR's practice	Role-play, perspective-taking, procedural rehearsal	Overlaying print, environments or artwork	Covered on PTR's mixed reality page

A learner and instructor display AR markers. A VR training scenario for augmented reality. — A learner and instructor display AR markers.

Practical considerations

Usefulness depends on the device.

Phone or tablet AR needs no special hardware. Holding a device up for a long session is tiring and limits the view to the screen.

AR glasses free the hands and widen the view, but remain less common outside specialist workplaces. Weight, battery life and cost limit how long and how often they can be worn.

Low light, reflective or featureless surfaces and fast movement can make digital content drift or lose its anchor. Before requesting camera access, an AR build should explain what it captures and why. To see PTR's wider XR work, visit the XR overview page.

A young woman in an embroidered denim jacket wearing a PeopleTech Revolution branded headset raises both controllers, trying immersive tech hands-on at a PTR community event — A PTR guest tries immersive technology in Townsville.

Try it

PTR's AR Business Card, live now.

It runs on Labs Demos and opens in a browser with no app to install. Try the AR Business Card. Talk to us about an AR idea.

"It's kind of like being in a big prototyping sandpit. We're also really lucky that the extended reality (XR) community in Australia is so advanced and supportive."

Leonie Sanderson, PTR's co-founder, seated at a table with her phone in hand. Leonie Sanderson
Co-founder, People Tech Revolution, on building from Australia. Startup Spotlight, Aerospace Xelerated, 2023