The first module “AR Applications, Products & Business” focuses on the variety of AR (Augmented Reality) applications, technologies, products, and businesses. The lecture starts with the definitions and characteristics of AR and explains the differences of AR and VR (Virtual Reality). Then the advantages of various AR UI (User Interface) types, which include handheld AR displays (e.g., smartphones), AR eyeglasses, and HMDs (Head-Mounted Displays) are covered. In addition, AR business models and an analysis of the AR market, which includes the AR/VR headset market share, Worldwide AR/VR headset forecast, AR/VR market size by segment, and AR/VR market size forecasts are described.

The second module “AR Technology” focuses on AR (Augmented Reality) technologies, operation workflow, and Cloud support technologies. First, the features of AR technological components, and the role of AR feature detection/description technology and the IPD (Interest Point Detection) process is introduced. Second the advantages of AR cloud cooperative computation and AR cloud offloading is covered. In addition, the types of AR feature extraction descriptor types, feature detector requirements, and influencing factors are covered.

The third module “SIFT SURF FAST BRIEF ORB BRISK” focuses on all of the core feature extraction technologies used in AR (Augmented Reality), which include SIFT, SURF, FAST, BRIEF, ORB, and BRISK. As feature extraction is the most important (and computation burdening and time consuming) procedure of the AR process, the variety of technologies applied in state-of-the-art AR devices are studied in detail in this module. The lectures cover the characteristics of the AR IPD (Interest Point Detection), feature detection, and description schemes, which include SIFT (Scale Invariant Feature Transform), SURF (Speed-Up Robust Feature), FAST (Features from Accelerated Segment Test), BRIEF (Binary Robust Independent Elementary Features), ORB (Oriented FAST and Rotated BRIEF), and BRISK (Binary Robust Invariant Scalable Keypoints).

The fourth module “Skype, YouTube & H.264/MPEG-4 AVC” focuses on the two most famous video service types that exist in the World. Skype is the most widely used video conferencing and VoIP (Voice over IP) application service in the World, which is now included in various Microsoft products, making video and voice communications possible from practically anywhere an Internet connection is available. YouTube is the World’s most widely used video service application service. The lectures cover the history of Skype and YouTube and also the evolution of their video and audio codec technologies. In addition, the lecture covers the details of the state-of-the-art H.264/MPEG-4 AVC video media technology that is currently used by Skype and YouTube.