Here’s How You Can Get Into The Field Of AR, The Next Big Thing

We are lucky to be witnessing amazing technological innovations that are changing the world as we know it. Big data, analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, IoT, and of course, augmented reality are a part of this sophisticated change. Remember the shift from landline phones to cordless to smartphones? Experts believe that augmented reality will cause a bigger stir than the invention of smartphones due to AR's true potential.

What Is Augmented Reality?

Augmented Reality (AR) is a technology that brings virtual elements into the real world by projecting virtual objects over a surface. As smartphones are in all of our hands, this technology has gained popularity and made many industries develop AR applications to provide a better customer experience.

Shopping portals, gaming platforms, distance education, military and space training, surgical training, etc. use AR technology. Some of the famous AR applications are Pokemon Go, Google Translate, SnapChat, and Google Lens.

The vast potential of AR has grabbed the eyeballs of many tech giants who want to develop innovative products. For instance, Microsoft developed the Hololens headset to solve real-world problems using AR. Following the same path, Google and Apple have also invested in this technology. Augmented Reality can transform the tourism, healthcare, real estate, retail, marketing, and manufacturing sectors, and this is going to grow in the future. Once industries see the true capability of AR, they will use it to develop their business and the careers of their employees.

A Career In Augmented Reality

Augmented Reality is an innovative and creative technology, hence starting with a arts/design/science/engineering background will be ideal. Having a degree in computer science or IT will also be helpful in understanding the concept. Now, if you want to go towards AR application development, you need to have strong hardware skills like developing circuits and sensors, etc.

If you want to make your career in AR, these are the skills you must focus on:

Augmented Reality SDK: If you want to develop AR applications, you must have a working knowledge of software development kits like Vuforia, Apple, Maxst, ARToolkit, etc.

Programming Skills: According to a study, most AR applications use JAVA, C#, C, and C++

Knowledge About UI/UX: Augmented Reality applications superimpose real images with 3D images, videos, and backgrounds. Hence, UI/UX is important to make a good AR application.

3D Gaming Engine Knowledge: To create characters and images for the AR application, strong knowledge and experience in applications like MAYA, UnReal engine, Unity, LibGDX, etc. will make you a pro-AR app developer.

App Development Skills: Since most of these applications will be used in mobiles, knowledge about software like Android studio, Flutter, Eclipse, etc. help you get a strong position in this field.

Now that you know what skills companies will be looking for, make the most of the future of AR. From content developer, sound effect engineer, software engineer, to UX/UI designer, VR gaming engineer, quality assurance, etc. you can be a part of the technology's next boom, augmented reality.