The words “virtual reality” and “augmented reality” are sometimes used interchangeably. VR headsets like the Oculus Quest and the Valve Index and AR apps and games like Pokemon remain popular.
They sound similar, and as technology advances, they bleed into each other a little. But they’re two entirely different notions, with distinct qualities that set one apart from the other.
What is Virtual Reality?
VR headsets take over your view to make you feel as though you’re somewhere else.The HTC Vive Cosmos, PlayStation VR, Oculus Quest, Valve Index, and other headsets are opaque when worn, shutting off your surroundings.
You could believe you’re blindfolded if you put them on when they’re turned off.When you switch on the headsets, the LCD or OLED screens within are refracted by the lenses, filling your field of view with whatever is projected.
It might be a game, a 360-degree movie, or simply the virtual space between the platforms’ interfaces.
Visually, you are transported to wherever the headset desires you to go—the outer world is replaced with a virtual on-screen environment.
Six-degrees-of-freedom (6DOF) motion tracking is used in tethered VR headsets such as the Index and PS VR and standalone VR headsets such as the Quest 2.
External sensors or cameras (for the Index and PS VR) or outward-facing cameras provide this technology. This implies that the headsets detect the direction you’re facing and any movement you make in those directions.
When coupled with 6DOF motion controllers, you can move about in a virtual world using virtual hands.
This space is often only a few square meters across, yet it is far more immersive than simply standing motionless and staring in various directions.
The disadvantage is that you must be careful not to trip over any cable that connects the headset to your computer or game system.
Motion tracking with six degrees of freedom (6DOF) is utilized in tethered VR headsets such as the Index and PS VR and standalone VR headsets such as the Quest 2.
This technology is provided via external sensors or cameras (for the Index and PS VR) or outward-facing cameras.
This means that the headsets detect the direction you’re facing and any movement you make in that direction.
When combined with 6DOF motion controllers, virtual hands may be used to move around in a virtual world.
This space is frequently only a few square meters across, yet it is considerably more immersive than merely standing stationary and gazing in different directions.
The drawback is that you must be cautious not to trip over any cables that may be there.
Virtual reality surpasses your surroundings in both games and applications, transporting you to different worlds.
It makes no difference where you are physical. In video games, you may find yourself in the cockpit of a starfighter, and you may virtually visit outlying areas as though you were there using applications.
VR has a plethora of options, many of which require replacing everything around you with something else.
What is Augmented Reality ?
Unlike virtual reality, which replaces your perception, augmented reality augments it. AR systems, such as the Microsoft HoloLens and other enterprise-level “smart glasses,” are transparent, allowing you to see everything in front of you as if you were wearing a pair of poor-quality sunglasses.
The technique is intended to allow for unrestricted mobility while projecting pictures over whatever you are looking at.
The idea is extended to smartphones with augmented reality applications and games, such as Pokemon Go, which utilize your phone’s camera to follow your surroundings and overlay more information on top of it on the screen.
AR displays may range from as simple as a data overlay showing the time to as complex as holograms floating in the center of a room.
Pokemon Go superimposes a Pokemon on top of whatever the camera is looking at. Meanwhile, the HoloLens and other smart glasses allow you to virtualize floating app windows and 3D décor around you.
When compared to virtual reality, this technology has a significant disadvantage: visual immersion.
While VR covers and replaces your field of vision, AR apps only appear on the screen of your smartphone or tablet, and even the HoloLens can only display pictures in front of your eyes in a restricted area.
It’s not very immersive when you’re watching it. The potential for augmented reality is virtually infinite.
For years, phone-based augmented reality software has been identifying surroundings and delivering additional information about what it sees, such as live translation of text or pop-up evaluations of restaurants as you look at them.
Dedicated augmented reality headsets, such as the HoloLens, can go much farther, allowing you to arrange different programs as floating windows around you virtually.
They essentially provide you with a flexible, multi-monitor computer solution.
Currently, AR is only widely available on smartphones and lacks the vision-augmenting capabilities of enterprise-level AR screens.
This implies that until a consumer AR headset is produced, AR will remain highly restricted.
Difference between AR and VR
Despite their similar designs, virtual reality and augmented reality achieve two very different things in two very different ways.
VR replaces reality by transporting you to another world, and AR augments reality by superimposing data on top of what you’re already experiencing.
They are both robust technologies that have yet to make an impression on consumers, but show a lot of potentials.
They have the potential to transform how we use computers in the future fundamentally, but whether one or both will succeed is still unknown.
