The RNC Has Been Leveraging Augmented Reality

The Republican National Convention is ostensibly about nominating candidates for the presidency and vice presidency, but in reality, it's also a major political show designed to make the Republican party look cool. This year's RNC in Milwaukee is a return to normalcy after the 2020 conventions were held virtually because of the pandemic.

Those who have been tuning in to the conventions may have noticed that one of the captions on the screen occasionally says "RNC Augmented Reality." Naturally, many wanted to better understand what that caption meant and how augmented reality was being used at the convention.

The RNC is actually the first political conventional to take advantage of augmented reality, which essentially just makes the displays more immersive for viewers at home than they are in the room. There's already pretty massive screens in the room, of course, but those displays are extended, and new ones are created so that viewers at home get an impression that there's even more going on than there actually is.

While the RNC may have been the first convention to take advantage of this, it's not the first event to do so. Live events like the Emmys and Oscars, as well as Super Bowl halftime shows, have already started doing this so that the onscreen displays for viewers at home are even more immersive than the view from those who are actually in the room at the event.

The box that says "RNC Augmented Reality" is simply letting viewers know that some of what they're seeing on the screen isn't actually in the room where it's being displayed. The idea of using augmented reality in this way is simply to make the displays feel even more impressive than they are in real life. Conventions like this are a big show, and this one is taking advantage of every possible technology.

While comparing the ratings to 2020 is difficult because of the unique circumstances of the pandemic, reporting suggests that the first night of the 2024 RNC drew 18.13 million viewers, which was a 21 percent drop from 2016. Viewership declined to an even greater degree for the second night to 14.81 million viewers, in spite of the fact that Trump has been a regular presence at the convention, and the first night was his first public appearance since his assassination attempt.

Of course, the ratings may increase for night four, which is when Trump is scheduled to address the convention. It will be his first remarks since the assassination attempt, although he has already been posting regularly to his social media platform, Truth Social.

When he takes the stage, he'll get an assist from some augmented reality to make the platform and stage around him seem even cooler than it would be if you were there in person. Ultimately, though, those bells and whistles will be second to whatever the former president, who is currently leading the polls, actually says in his address.