Augmented vs Virtual Reality: find the differences

#technology finds continuously new ways to progress and incorporate in our lives. Better cameras, high definition monitors, smartwatches, etc. are becoming so common that they are beginning to look boring. This raises the question if technology has anything more interesting and exciting to offer. Of course is the answer. Augmented and virtual reality are here trying to make our reality seem a little unreal. But what are those and how do they differ?

Augmented reality or AR refers to an interactive experience where the real-world environment is enhanced by computer-generated perceptual information, sometimes taking advantage of multiple sensory modalities including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory and olfactory. In simple words, AR is the combination of real and virtual objects interacting in an accurate 3D presentation. Depending on the senses involved there are different hardware required, however AR in its simplest form usually includes a screen (like a tablet or a phone) and an app that makes pictures come to life. AR has been already used for advertisement purposes, especially in products targeting children these include kinder? eggs where the toy comes to life after screening a QR code. Among its applications, AR has been used in healthcare, from supporting the planning, practice, and training of surgical procedures to facing fears like spider or cockroach phobia in a controlled environment.

AR is often confused with VR, which stands for virtual reality, but there is a core difference between the two. AR alters one's ongoing perception of a real-world environment, whereas VR completely replaces the user's real-world environment with a simulated one. In order to create a new environment from scratch VR needs a lot more specialised hardware. There are higher or lower degrees of immersion depending on the three types of VR systems provided to the user:

·???????Non-immersive systems are the simplest and cheapest type of VR applications that use desktops to reproduce images of the world.

·???????Immersive systems provide a complete simulated experience due to the support of several sensory outputs devices such as head mounted displays (HMDs) for enhancing the stereoscopic view of the environment through the movement of the user’s head, as well as audio and haptic devices.

·???????Semi-immersive systems such as Fish Tank VR are between the two above.

There are many possibilities that allow the use of VR as a stimulus, replacing real stimuli, recreating experiences, which in the real world would be impossible, with a high realism. Since its appearance, VR has been used in different fields, including gaming, military training, architectural design, education, learning and social skills training. Simulations of surgical procedures, assistance to the elderly or psychological treatments are additional fields in which VR is bursting strongly.

Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) have exciting potential in the future of gaming, marketing, e-commerce, education, and many other fields. Both technologies are known for their enriched experience that brings together a virtual world and the real one with enhanced, 3-D visuals. However, they are not exactly the same and their differences are summarised below:

·???????AR uses a real-world setting while VR is completely virtual

·???????AR users can control their presence in the real world; VR users are controlled by the system

·???????VR requires a headset device, but AR can be accessed with a smartphone

·???????AR enhances both the virtual and real world while VR only enhances a fictional reality

In any case technology has always been and will be an #evolving and #exciting field making our lives more interesting.