Rise of immersive technologies like Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality can be credited to bold and cutting-edge ideas captured in science fiction. While augmented reality has crossed the boundaries of what’s possible in sci-fi, it’s still hasn’t made that leap in real world. But continuous inventions are slowly bridging the gap between imagination and reality.
Snapchat filters and Pokémon Go were the game-changing apps for AR that led major tech firms to consider out-of-the-box possibilities. One question, however, that keeps popping up in augmented reality is that if we are expanding real world reality into AR then we ought to be able to interact with virtual objects as well. What would be the point of creating an immersive experience where you can’t interact intuitively?
Although it’s still new in execution, gesture controls have rapidly seized attention of developers. With the recent introduction of 3D real-time hand gesture recognition technology, it is now possible to let people use their own hands to interact with virtual objects placed in AR. While the idea sounds fascinating, it’s a first-generation technology and precise gesture controls can be a little hard to achieve. Integrating gesture recognition technology with your app may not be as easy as it sounds.
Here’s why:
To integrate gesture control and recognition technology in your app, you’ll need to track hand gestures in real time. Simultaneously, the AR SDK is rendering virtual objects in the same 3D space. When both these functionalities happen at the same time in the same space, it is harder to synchronize them without hitting a few snags in the way. Precise gesture controls will not be possible if virtual objects rendering and hand gestures recognition are not synchronized in your app. To move any further in using actual hands to interact with virtual objects in AR, it’s crucial to find a middle ground where there’s no conflict in these functionalities.
Another potential problem with integrating gesture recognition and control in AR is the processing power. AR in smartphones already uses the 2D camera of your smart device. With the addition of hand gesture tracking and AR app itself, it is bound to have a huge impact on processing power of the device. Not only would it increase cost of AR compatible device, it will also require massive processing power for constant processing of frame and gesture tracking.
However, the potential limitations in no way imply that they can’t be solved. With each passing day, smartphones and tablets are becoming more and more powerful and immersive technologies more intuitive. The race to develop a more intuitive experience is likely to accelerate next-generation solutions to gesture control integration with AR apps. The speed with which VR, AR, and XR are developing might just make Minority Report possible for us in a few years’ time.