3 Blockbuster Movies That Implement Augmented Reality Technology

Nowadays, movies come with wide-ranged genres. Romance, comedy, thriller, horror — you name it. However, it’s undeniable that tech movies are getting more and more avid fans these days. It seemingly appeals to youngsters which are familiar with technology.

But, have you ever wondered whether any movies implement augmented reality in their scenes or production? Well, our team tried to find it out, and the answer is: yes, they exist!

To answer your curiosity, let us refresh your mind and take you to a quick tour of augmented reality experiences through these 3 blockbuster movies!

1. Iron Man

Put your hands up if you love Iron Man, one of the most beloved Marvel’s superheroes!

Well, our team DOES love Iron Man 3,000!

If you notice throughout the movies, you’re most likely familiar with Iron Man’s helmet, right? The iconic one, you can say. It turns out that Tony Stark — our tech guy — builds the helmet with an AR technology!

In Iron Man 1, the helmet is actually designed with a head-up display (HUD), which is a transparent display that shows your data.  The HUD applied in Stark’s helmet provides crucial information, such as flight data. It also enables Stark to identify nearby objects and individuals. Just in case the enemy approaches, Stark is all prepared with HUD!

Read also: 4 Types of Augmented Reality Devices That You Can't Miss Out

Today, HUD is already implemented for the automotive industry. With HUD, drivers can get access to the navigation information through a transparent display! It's a cool invention, isn’t it?

Talking about the Iron Man series, we also find another cool AR tech, which you’re maybe familiar with too! If you’ve watched Iron Man 3, there’s this scene when Stark is walking through a virtual crime scene. It appears that this technology can be classified as AR!

Through his computing device, Stark can take a tour around the virtual crime scene. It also enables Stark to find critical clues from the crime scene. In the end, it eventually helps him to solve the case. All hail to the AR virtual crime scene!

You may say that it’s unrealistic, but the technology is actually already happening. Now, it’s possible for police officers and investigators to solve their cases virtually!

2. Avengers

Somehow, all Marvel movies’ technologies are always ahead of time, which spoils your imagination with marvelous technologies that leave you in awe. The Avengers movie series is undeniably one of them!

Take an example from Avengers: Infinity War, in which the Avengers having a teleconference with the U.S. Secretary of State. In the scene, they make use of AR to have a more advanced teleconference!

The concept is pretty much the same as a video-call meeting — except that it lets Thaddeus Ross walks around the Avengers HQ and speak to the Avengers as if he's present in the room. Well, not really the same, eh? But, it will be pretty useful if someday we can use it in our daily life!

Another example of AR implementation is also shown in Avengers: Endgame. When Stark records his video through his helmet at the beginning of the movie – which turns out to be his farewell video!

Before Stark finishes recording the video, his Iron Man helmet radiates light several times towards Stark. It turns out that the light is used to scan Stark, and later on it’s used for a volumetric video!

Volumetric video is a technology to record 3D displays — particularly a location or performance. Later on, the video which Stark recorded is augmented into physical space — making people around him feel his presence although he’s already gone.

Currently, the volumetric video can only be displayed in the form of 3D and virtual reality. But, it’s fine to say that AR also has a huge potential to step up the game!

3. Avatar

Enough with all the Marvel movies, now let’s move on to another blockbuster that you also probably love — Avatar! Apparently, this movie also shows you a glimpse of AR tech in their scenes and in their movie production.

To give you an idea, the scene when Jack Sully and the others discuss over the giant tree of Na’vi in the headquarter is actually using AR experiences! That’s why Sully and his colleagues can see the projection of the tree by acquiring a real-time experience.

You can’t also put aside the fact that the ship — which they use to battle the Na’vi people — is geared with HUD. It’s used to navigate themselves in the air, using the transparent display. Well, it’s just like what Stark did, but it’s implemented in a spaceship.

But, there’s even a cooler fact that you probably won’t realize! James Cameron — the director of Avatar — actually used augmented reality to film the live-action sequences.

With the help from Fusion camera, Cameron could visualize the actors interacting in the form of avatars — the ones with blue skin and tall height! Nowadays, there are more and more movies that film their scenes using the Fusion camera.

If it keeps on developing in the film industry, the green screen will very likely become a thing of the past.

Well, that's all! Isn’t it quite fascinating to see that the AR techs which are shown in the movies are actually already around us?

Although we can’t say that all of them are already brought into reality, who knows that you’ll be the next to bring it to life? Practicing in our Assemblr mobile app or Assemblr Studio might help, though. 😉

Or maybe, our team will take the challenge to make it happen! Once again, who knows?