Picture a world in which people never need to look at a map, hire a museum guide, or take an item out of a box to get a better look before purchasing it; augmented reality makes all of this possible and more, though a widespread market release is still some ways off.
The idea behind AR is simple: the technology augments our reality by placing digital objects or information into the physical world around us, and people can see these digital elements by looking through AR lenses or even their smartphone camera.