AR | VR | MR — The new digital era
The newest technologies and platforms catapulting digital experiences by bringing them into the real world are Augmented reality, Virtual reality, and Mixed reality.
Not only are they compatible to various industry domains, they are also the most captivating form of technology that truly engages users of a wide demographic. Since they are relatively novice in the market, there is still a lot of confusion surrounding the three platforms, hence we decided to clear the air and enumerate what makes each of them unique.
Virtual Reality
This technology engages users in a completely virtual environment that is generated by a computer. The most advanced VR experiences even provide freedom of movement — users can move in a digital environment and hear sounds. Moreover, special hand controllers can be used to enhance VR experiences.
You need to wear a special VR headset to experience virtual reality. Most VR headsets are connected to a computer or a gaming console but there are standalone devices as well. Most standalone VR headsets work in combination with smartphones — you insert a smartphone, wear a headset, and immerse in the virtual reality. VR has already been used to help with training medical staff and military as well as in gaming to give an experience on a totally different level. More recently virtual reality has stepped up to the next level offering users a more realistic experience to lose themselves in.
Augmented Reality
In augmented reality, users see and interact with the real world while digital content is added to it.
If you own a modern smartphone, you can easily download an AR app and try this technology. There’s a different way to experience augmented reality, though — with special AR headsets, such as Google Glass, where digital content is displayed on a tiny screen in front of a user’s eye. Although the digital and other augmented parts of the augmented reality are superimposed in real life they are not actually part of it. It can be used to interact with the real world to help make suggestions for improvement such as recipe ideas based on real ingredients laid out before the camera. Augmented reality is being used in real life situations such as training. It is also being used in gaming and more recently with mobile technology using GPS signals to add more realism and accuracy.
Mixed Reality
This is the most recent development in reality technologies that sometimes causes confusion, primarily because different experiences are called so. The two forms of reality technologies that are referred to as mixed reality
Mixed reality that starts with the real world — virtual objects are not just overlaid on the real world but can interact with it. In this case, a user remains in the real-world environment while digital content is added to it; moreover, a user can interact with virtual objects. This form of mixed reality can be considered an advanced form of AR. Mixed reality allows you to get a better sense of realism as the digital scenarios take place in the real world surroundings. This can be used in training and in gaming technology.
Holograms have been used more recently to make the user feel as though an object or character is actually there. Synthetic content is being improved all of the time, which shows that the future of mixed reality is not as far away as we may think. It’s the closest that technology has been so far as creating a new age experience.
So there you have it, 3 different technologies taking the new age by storm. We can only sit and wait to see how each of these will change our lives forever.
