The 2019 instalment of Virtual Reality Working Out Loud Week kicks off next month. For a couple of previous VR WOL Weeks I’ve collated lists of the examples that the participants unearthed – see 20 real-world examples of Virtual Reality and 25 more real-world examples of Virtual Reality.

This time however I’ve decided to do something different. I’ve decided to focus my attention on Augmented Reality.

As with VR, there’s plenty of talk out there about how wonderful AR is and the incredible potential it offers us. There’s also a lot of talk about how much better it is than VR, which I find comically absolutist. Surely it’s circumstantial?

In any case, I’m interested in what people in the real world are currently doing with this emerging technology, so I’ve collated the following examples.

In the post-Pokémon Go era, an increasing number of AR games pepper the market. While one game replaces Pikachu with robots, another goes a step further by leveraging the background environment as you ward off alien invaders.

For its part, Niantic is continuing to evolve Pokémon Go with occlusion, by which the augmentation integrates with the background environment. (For example, a monster pops its head up from behind your couch.) Word on the street is this kind of next level immersion will feature in their upcoming Harry Potter spinoff.

The trail being blazed by the entertainment industry is being quickly followed by workplace educators. For example, Japan Airlines uses AR to train its engine technicians, while Deakin University uses it to teach its healthcare students. In terms of performance support, doctors use AR to perform target guided surgery, while the Royal Navy uses it to aid the officer of the watch.

Some companies are also using AR to educate their customers. In my previous blog post Educate everyone I praised Hyundai’s virtual guide which helps Sonata owners maintain their vehicle. Another car maker, MINI, has glasses that not only provide its drivers with navigational prompts, but also lets them see through the car.

In the world of retail furniture, Ikea lets you see how their products look in your home and another app walks you through assembling them.

Customer education blurs with marketing, and prime examples of the latter are ModiFace’s hair colour and nail polish previewers. In a similar vein, Kinect lets you try on clothes, Lacoste lets you try on shoes, Shop 4 Rings lets you try on jewellery, while Speqs completes your look with glasses.

In regard to the point-and-play type of AR, one of the most impressive I’ve seen is that of winemaker 19 Crimes who brings the convicts on their labels to life. The eerie black-and-white treatment reminds me of Koko tormenting a cat in The Clown’s Little Brother – which was released back in 1920!

My coverage of augmented reality here is by no means exhaustive; it simply represents the instances I’ve stumbled upon recently. If you are aware of another real-world example, please share it via a comment below.

For more virtual reality, follow the #VRwolweek hashtag on Twitter and I encourage you to participate yourself.

In the meantime, who fancies running an #ARwolweek…?