Augmented reality has become serious with the release of the Pokemon Go game and has opened a new path to the evolution of technology that seemed instead oriented towards virtual reality.
Before Pokemon Go, other apps have already used the smartphone's camera to frame the real world, making it interactive on the mobile screen.
Augmented reality apps work show virtual elements in the real world on the mobile screen and add an interactive information overlay to the camera lens that can react to our movements with the finger on the screen.
Below we see some of the best augmented reality applications for Android and iPhone
READ ALSO: Try augmented reality on iPhone
1) Google Lens to recognize objects and things from the camera works in real time and uses artificial intelligence and the Google search engine.
2) Google Translate, the translation app, uses augmented reality to translate writings on billboards or books with the camera in real time.
3) Google Measure and the apps to measure distances with the phone's camera, described in another article.
4) Wikitude is a great ideal application when traveling. With Wikitude you can see, by combining the camera and the GPS, which places we have near, with a radar that signals points of interest such as hotels, bars or night clubs on the screen. Taking a road with the camera, you will see the names of the places framed on the screen and you can read the various information about it.
5) SketchAR is a fantastic app that allows you to learn to draw. You have to take an empty sheet of paper, load an image into SketchAR (there are several models or you can convert a photo) and the application "projects" a virtual copy of the image on the sheet, which becomes only to be traced.
6) Inkhunter is an app that allows you to see how a design is like a tattoo, before actually doing it, pointing the camera of the Android phone on our skin.
7) Lumyer is an app to make nice selfies where the effects are shown in real time, on our head or above our face.
8) WallaMe allows you to share secret messages written on the world. To use it, you must point the camera at an empty wall (even on the street) and write or draw a message on the screen and then share it.
9) Driver Assistant is an application to use in the car to learn how to drive. Using some support to keep the mobile phone upright, you can frame the road you are traveling on and display some on-board information such as the distance with the car in front, the meaning of the signs and other visual or audible warnings when there are dangers on the road.
10) Car Finder AR (not free) is one of the Android apps to find the parked car. Car Finder AR is used to mark the position of the parked car with 3D maps and a radar that guides the user who is looking for the car with the mobile phone in his hand, framing the surrounding environment with the camera.
11) AR GPS Compass Map 3D is a very nice app that acts as a 3D compass that appears drawn in overlay on the camera frame.
It also allows you to measure the height of buildings, distances and many other information.
12) The World Around Me is another very useful travel app, to be used while going around the city, to know which places and shops are around looking at the phone screen and moving it in every direction.
13) Ikea Place allows you to know the prices, seeing them in superimposition while framing an article with the camera during a tour of the Ikea shopping center. The furniture can be practiced virtually at home.
14) Star Walk 2 is an app that demonstrates all the effectiveness of augmented reality: just point the camera towards the sky to see it on the screen populated with stars and planets all with their name and the ability to read any type of information.
15) Quiver allows you to see nice 3D drawings and figures on the screen, only by framing the camera with special drawings that can be downloaded free of charge from the quivervision.com website.
16) Pokemon GO and Ingress, two games that are played in the real world.
17) Ghost Snap AR Horror Survival is a game that uses the camera flash to illuminate the surrounding environment and displays a green-colored night vision on the screen. You must therefore walk with the phone in your hand and explore the environment by taking photos when there is something strange.
18) Just a Line, to draw on the real world thanks to augmented reality.
The applications listed here may not be the best for the goal they set themselves, but they are certainly more fun than the classic ones and, in some cases, even surprising in their way of using augmented reality.
READ ALSO: Best virtual reality apps for Android and iPhone
Before Pokemon Go, other apps have already used the smartphone's camera to frame the real world, making it interactive on the mobile screen.
Augmented reality apps work show virtual elements in the real world on the mobile screen and add an interactive information overlay to the camera lens that can react to our movements with the finger on the screen.
Below we see some of the best augmented reality applications for Android and iPhone
READ ALSO: Try augmented reality on iPhone
1) Google Lens to recognize objects and things from the camera works in real time and uses artificial intelligence and the Google search engine.
2) Google Translate, the translation app, uses augmented reality to translate writings on billboards or books with the camera in real time.
3) Google Measure and the apps to measure distances with the phone's camera, described in another article.
4) Wikitude is a great ideal application when traveling. With Wikitude you can see, by combining the camera and the GPS, which places we have near, with a radar that signals points of interest such as hotels, bars or night clubs on the screen. Taking a road with the camera, you will see the names of the places framed on the screen and you can read the various information about it.
5) SketchAR is a fantastic app that allows you to learn to draw. You have to take an empty sheet of paper, load an image into SketchAR (there are several models or you can convert a photo) and the application "projects" a virtual copy of the image on the sheet, which becomes only to be traced.
6) Inkhunter is an app that allows you to see how a design is like a tattoo, before actually doing it, pointing the camera of the Android phone on our skin.
7) Lumyer is an app to make nice selfies where the effects are shown in real time, on our head or above our face.
8) WallaMe allows you to share secret messages written on the world. To use it, you must point the camera at an empty wall (even on the street) and write or draw a message on the screen and then share it.
9) Driver Assistant is an application to use in the car to learn how to drive. Using some support to keep the mobile phone upright, you can frame the road you are traveling on and display some on-board information such as the distance with the car in front, the meaning of the signs and other visual or audible warnings when there are dangers on the road.
10) Car Finder AR (not free) is one of the Android apps to find the parked car. Car Finder AR is used to mark the position of the parked car with 3D maps and a radar that guides the user who is looking for the car with the mobile phone in his hand, framing the surrounding environment with the camera.
11) AR GPS Compass Map 3D is a very nice app that acts as a 3D compass that appears drawn in overlay on the camera frame.
It also allows you to measure the height of buildings, distances and many other information.
12) The World Around Me is another very useful travel app, to be used while going around the city, to know which places and shops are around looking at the phone screen and moving it in every direction.
13) Ikea Place allows you to know the prices, seeing them in superimposition while framing an article with the camera during a tour of the Ikea shopping center. The furniture can be practiced virtually at home.
14) Star Walk 2 is an app that demonstrates all the effectiveness of augmented reality: just point the camera towards the sky to see it on the screen populated with stars and planets all with their name and the ability to read any type of information.
15) Quiver allows you to see nice 3D drawings and figures on the screen, only by framing the camera with special drawings that can be downloaded free of charge from the quivervision.com website.
16) Pokemon GO and Ingress, two games that are played in the real world.
17) Ghost Snap AR Horror Survival is a game that uses the camera flash to illuminate the surrounding environment and displays a green-colored night vision on the screen. You must therefore walk with the phone in your hand and explore the environment by taking photos when there is something strange.
18) Just a Line, to draw on the real world thanks to augmented reality.
The applications listed here may not be the best for the goal they set themselves, but they are certainly more fun than the classic ones and, in some cases, even surprising in their way of using augmented reality.
READ ALSO: Best virtual reality apps for Android and iPhone
