Augmented and Virtual Reality
Augmented and Virtual Reality
Augmented and Virtual Reality
Augmented reality and virtual reality (commonly abbreviated as AR and VR respectively) are reality
technologies that either enhance or replace a real-life environment with a simulated one.
DEFINITIONS
AUGMENTED REALITY
Augmented reality (AR) augments your surroundings by adding digital elements to a live view,
often by using the camera on a smartphone. A virtual environment is designed to coexist with the
real environment, with the goal of being informative and providing additional data about the real
world, which a user can access without having to do a search. For example, industrial AR apps
could offer instant troubleshooting information when a handset is aimed at a piece of failing
equipment.
VIRTUAL REALITY
Virtual reality (VR) is a completely immersive experience that replaces a real-life environment
with a simulated one. Virtual reality encompasses a complete environmental simulation that
replaces the user’s world with an entirely virtual world. Because these virtual environments are
entirely fabricated, they are often designed to be larger than life. For example, VR could let a user
box with a cartoon version of Mike Tyson in a virtual boxing ring.
EXAMPLES
Ikea Place is a mobile app that allows you to envision Ikea furniture in your own home, by
overlaying a 3D representation of the piece atop a live video stream of your room.
YouCam Makeup lets users virtually try on real-life cosmetics via a living selfie.
Repair technicians can don a headset that walks them through the steps of fixing or maintaining
a broken piece of equipment, diagramming exactly where each part goes and the order in which
to do things.
Various sports are relying on augmented reality to provide real-time statistics and improve
physical training for athletes.
Architects are using VR to design homes — and let clients “walk through” before the foundation
has ever been laid.
Automobiles and other vehicles are increasingly being designed in VR.
Firefighters, soldiers and other workers in hazardous environments are using VR to train without
putting themselves at risk.
BENEFITS OF AR AND VR
1. In Business
- The main advantage of VR and AR would be that it creates such value through personalized
content and new business models. As more and more E-commerce/retail companies are
integrating VR & AR technologies into the User experience, the concept of 'try-before-you-buy'
vastly expands.
2. In Education
- In higher education, AR/VR can help learners grasp abstract concepts and gain hands-on
experience in low-risk virtual settings. This can enhance STEM courses, medical simulations, arts
and humanities materials, and technical education.
3. In work
- For instance, with AR and VR help, you can form avatars of employees and put them in the
virtual world where employees find themselves in the 3D production line and practice learning in
real-time. Moreover, AR/VR technology in employee training helps employees to practice their
skills effectively.
4. In Healthcare
- Virtual and augmented reality in medical field is becoming more widespread and common in
daily healthcare practice. Their use allows the doctors to provide more effective, less invasive,
and overall better care to their patients while for the medical students, it offers more hands-on
experience during learning.
While video gaming and entertainment will continue to drive this market, AR and VR will also
see emerging practical applications. In the world of virtual reality, these include fully virtual surgery, in
which surgeons perform their jobs only in a simulated environment and robotic systems do the actual
work. In the world of AR, the ability to virtually travel anywhere is made possible by an emerging tech
platform called Mirrorworld, which aims to replicate the physical universe on a 1:1 scale. Education will
likely continue to shift to a virtual model on AR and VR platforms both in academia and in the corporate
world. And finally, retailers will continue to rely on AR applications to upgrade virtual shopping
applications, slowly rendering the need for physical storefronts obsolete.