Advancements in immersive technologies continue, changing how various industries operate. Extended reality can potentially benefit companies in various ways, so IT leaders should learn how the technologies can potentially apply to their industry.
Understanding the differences between augmented reality vs. virtual reality vs. mixed reality can seem challenging, but the technologies’ appearances in pop culture mean that many people are familiar with them already. Each immersive technology can potentially improve the digital experiences of a company’s consumers and employees.
Here’s more about each type of technology as well as some potential real-life use cases and applications.
Augmented reality (AR) layers a digital display onto the view of a user’s physical surroundings.
The screen in Tony Stark’s Iron Man helmet is the perfect example. It shows important information, such as the distance of other objects, his altitude and how fast an opponent is moving.
Another entertainment-based AR example is the popular app Pokemon Go, which allows players to use their smartphones to interact with digital characters in the real world.
However, augmented reality has also crossed over to the business world. Some manufacturers are using AR to train workers and perform maintenance.
Virtual reality (VR) is a 3D computer-simulated environment where users can interact with digital objects, either by clicking a mouse or using wearable devices, such as headsets and special gloves.
Hollywood’s version of virtual reality — as seen in films like The Matrix and Ready Player One — is a fully immersive, computer-generated world that perfectly mimics all the physical sensations of the real world. While we’re a long way off from being able to experience taste, touch and smell in VR, it’s still a useful — if only partially immersive — technology.
Some consumer VR products include Google’s Cardboard, Meta’s Oculus Rift and Sony’s PlayStation VR2.
Confusion can arise over the difference between augmented reality and virtual reality. Some of the key areas where AR and VR differ include the following:
Mixed reality (MR) takes augmented reality a step further and allows users to manipulate and interact with virtual objects and information. A mixed reality headset displays information that aligns or synchronizes with specific areas in users’ physical environments that they can then interact with in a digital environment. For example, an MR headset can project a virtual keyboard onto a desk that the wearer can then use to type.
The key difference between mixed reality and augmented reality is the user’s ability to interact with the digital display. For example, a technician wearing an AR headset can view the holographic image of the engine but can’t virtually take it apart.
Extended reality, or XR, is a computer-generated experience that unites aspects of both the real and virtual worlds. XR encompasses augmented reality, virtual reality and mixed reality and can also include other immersive technology, such as the metaverse.
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