The expression "augmented reality" was coined in 1992 by researcher Thomas Preston Caudell of Boeing to develop "assisted driving" in the military.
Today for augmented reality (AR) we mean the enrichment of our sensory perception through various levels of information, processed and transmitted electronically not perceptible through the five senses. We talk about Augmented Reality even when the information, instead of being added, is reduced in order to present the user with a more comprehensible and involving reality both on an emotional and experiential level.
The information that increases perceived reality can be added on computers or mobile devices, through a webcam and vertical software, able to recognize specific markers (AR Tag or Trackable), which immediately overlay on their screens multimedia contents such as video, audio and objects 3D.
In virtual reality (VR: virtual reality), instead, the information added or subtracted electronically become preponderant to the point of deceiving the senses, with the sensation of being immersed in a new dimension, completely reconstructed on the computer.
Although these distinctions may seem artificial, we can say that augmented reality is based on the enhancement of the senses, while virtual reality is based on alteration.
Like other technological innovations, augmented reality has been applied in marketing and advertising, then it has conquered videogames and tourism and now: the business.