AR is augmented reality. If virtual reality is total
immersion, augmented reality is all about layering virtual
elements onto the real world. Pokémon Go is probably the most
well-known example of this technique, with a nexus of magical
animals layered onto a real-world map and what you can see with
your phone’s camera.
Until recently, AR has been distinguished
by a level of disconnect between the virtual and real world.
You may have information imposed on your field of vision –
like images or text,
but these virtual elements are not anchored to the real world,
and do not respond to physical objects in real-time.
Devices such as Google
Glass were early attempts to integrate AR into headwear, but
while there are reports that Apple is working on hardware
dedicated to AR, and there are some crazy patents about AR
contact lenses, the current mode for AR is to layer virtual
elements using pre-existing devices such as smartphones and
tablets.
MR is mixed
reality. Mixed reality involves a strong element of
interaction between physical and digital elements. The clearest
case of this is Microsoft’s HoloLens, which can impose virtual
models of buildings, bodies, and vehicles that designers can
walk around, inspect and tweak as they see fit. Experimental
hardware such as the Magic Leap and Intel’s Project Alloy
prototype have given a glimpse of where this path could lead,
potentially encompassing elements like haptics (touch).
The lines between AR
and MR have blurred somewhat. You could argue the IKEA app, for
example is a form of mixed reality as it allows users to walk
around virtual furniture on a real-world carpet, as it if were a
physical object. Some say MR is another way of saying ‘“true
AR”. It is likely that, as digital-physical interactions become
more sophisticated, one term will likely take over the other.
Many believe mixed reality will prevail.
VR is virtual reality. It is most
often used as an umbrella term for many immersive,
computer-simulated environments. This means that you can
probably get away with calling AR and MR subsections of VR.
Virtual reality is a totally
computer-simulated version of reality (for sound and vision).
Head-mounted displays like the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and
PlayStation VR, as well as mobile-based headsets like Google
Daydream and Samsung Gear, are all VR hardware. You strap them
onto your face, and are immersed in a digital environment.
Another subsection of VR is 360-degree video. Special cameras
capture these images, so they are not computer-made virtual
environments, but you still experience them using a VR
headset.
Ideally, a VR user
should feel like they have been transported from their living
room into a totally different space. Having your field of vision
taken up by a virtual world can trick your brain into feeling
physically present within that reality. These ideas about
presence and immersion and the potential for VR to communicate
another person’s perspective, making a user feel physically
involved in a way screen-based film cannot.
None of these should
be confused with AI, artificial intelligence, which is a
totally different topic.