The Pokémon Go and Augmented Reality technology

Before the game, a lot of people never heard about this concept that allows hunting the gang of Pikachu in the real world.

Thanks to the mix of real and the virtual world, Virtual Reality which is the main attraction of the game. However, the technology has been around quite a while and even had already been used in other games, advertising and even surgical procedures away. But it is with the Pokémon Go that this technology is now present in conversations and discussions, arousing the curiosity of many. After all, how can an animal that does not even exist can really appear on the bedroom door in a house or in a workplace? How they manage to mix the real environments? To answer these and other questions, we need to understand what augmented reality is and how it works. To do this, just follow the reading.

Augmented reality (AR) combines the capture of images with 3D projection, allowing, through the graphics created from the mixture of what is called ‘real with the virtual’, increasing the interactivity between man and machine. Currently, much of the research in RA is linked to the use of live-action video that are digitally processed and expanded by adding graphics.

The game uses Google Maps data to spread the animals, PokeStóps and gymnasiums in the cities. When the user/player arrives near to the place where the Pokémon is hidden, he/ she gets a message alert on the phone. To see where the monster is hidden, it is necessary to look through the smartphone camera. And that’s where the augmented reality technology comes in. The app renders a virtual image of the Pokémon on the signal obtained by the camera of the devices in this way as if the monster really was on top of the desk, on the couch or behind a bush in the park.

But how is this possible? For augmented reality to work a webcam or other device that enables the interpretation and creation of a virtual object is necessary. Through the camera, the image that is combined with the animation will be transmitted. From there comes into play the software or application capable of interpreting the signal transmitted by the camera. The captured image is designed with a 3D image previously included in the application responsible for rendering the graphics. Because the camera is capturing the images in real time and mixing them with animations, this junction causes the augmented reality effect.

Although new, Pokémon Go is not the only game using augmented reality technology, as this concept is already present in several other games.  Thanks for reading the stuff! Kindly share it to reduce the curiosity regarding the functioning of Pokémon Go.