Understanding Augmented Reality addresses the elements that are required to create augmented reality experiences. The technology that supports augmented reality will come and go, evolve and change. The underlying principles for creating exciting, useful augmented reality experiences are timeless. Augmented reality designed from a purely technological perspective will lead to an AR experience that is novel and fun for one-time consumption - but is no more than a toy. Imagine a filmmaking book that discussed cameras and special effects software, but ignored cinematography and storytelling! In order to create compelling augmented reality experiences that stand the test of time and cause the participant in the AR experience to focus on the content of the experience - rather than the technology - one must consider how to maximally exploit the affordances of the medium. Understanding Augmented Reality addresses core conceptual issues regarding the medium of augmented reality as well as the technology required to support compelling augmented reality. By addressing AR as a medium at the conceptual level in addition to the technological level, the reader will learn to conceive of AR applications that are not limited by today's technology. At the same time, ample examples are provided that show what is possible with current technology.

Augmented Reality deconstructed. Gain a core understanding of what this powerful emerging technology is, and how it can be applied to real world problems

About the Author
Dr. Alan B. Craig is an independent consultant in Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Visualization, and High Performance Computing. Prior to this role, he contributed much to these fields during his thirty-year career at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) as a Research Scientist at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) and as Senior Associate Director for Human-Computer Interaction at the Institute for Computing in Humanities, Arts, and Social Science (I-CHASS). Among his other consulting roles, he is currently engaged with the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE). Dr. Craig has been called upon to speak as an expert in VR and AR at countless worldwide events and continues to speak at various venues. He has taught classes related to VR and AR online as well as onsite at universities, companies, and high school campuses. Dr. Craig has worked with government and industry entities regarding VR and AR applications. He has been interviewed by numerous publications, television, and news outlets. In addition to Understanding Virtual Reality (with William R. Sherman) he also authored Developing Virtual Reality Applications (with William R. Sherman and Jeffrey D. Will) and Understanding Augmented Reality. Additionally, he has written multiple book chapters and articles. He has developed many virtual reality and augmented reality applications in content areas ranging from archaeology to zoology. He also teaches and advises on related topics. His primary focus has been on the use of virtual reality and augmented reality in educational applications and his work centers on the continuum between the physical and the digital. He holds three patents.

Reviews
"...Craig, an expert on data visualization, supercomputing, and augmented and virtual reality, offers a work intended for AR users, scholars, and developers. The introductory chapter discusses the history of AR and provides a detailed description of how the technology allows the user to interact with the (augmented) world. The rest of the book covers topics of interest to both users and developers..." --Reference & Research Book News, December 2013"This book offers great support for courses on human-computer interaction, interaction design, usability, and video game design, and could serve as a fundamental textbook for augmented reality courses. It will also be a valuable reference for augmented reality researchers and practitioners." --ComputingReviews.com, September 2013



Book Information
ISBN 9780240824086
Author Alan B. Craig
Format Paperback
Page Count 296
Imprint Focal Press
Publisher Elsevier Science & Technology
Weight(grams) 540g