// I’m asking this question in this forum because I believe this is the place where I have the highest chance of finding answer to my question, and I found no other sub-forums where my question would have fit better.
I am writing about augmented reality and I have a problem finding what is the definition of it or where can I find it. What I am looking for is a clear definition of what is augmented reality and what is virtual reality and what is the difference between the two.
What makes the problem harder is that since the last few years augmented reality have been used as (in my own words):
Looking at a marker or an object with a mobile device and having the camera’s image displayed on the screen overlaid with objects in a 3D scene
However I believe this is not the real definition, just like how 3D screens shouldn’t be called 3D but stereoscopic, but the PR folks turned it into 3D so now everyone calls them 3D.
For me, augmented reality would mean something where the user’s coordinate system is registered to the virtual world’s coordinate system, but while with virtual reality the user’s natural environment is hidden or as-dark-as-possible, with augmented reality it is part of the user’s perception, possibly because of a transparent screen or because the environment is simply visible around the virtual world.
Can you tell me where should I look for the original definitions (not Wikipedia, it’s just as confused about AR as I am), or with your own words what would be the correct definitions?
Actually who invented these phrases and at what time? Was it invented by sci-fi writers in the 60s? Or by academics in the Silicon Graphics era?