XR FTW?

By now most people know about virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), and understand the differences between the technologies (generally, VR uses a headset to create a fully immersive experience, while AR overlays computer graphics on the real world, often using a smartphone).

Confusing things a bit is a third term, “mixed reality” (MR), which doesn’t seem to have a widely agreed-upon meaning. Some use MR to mean “augmented reality plus”, and others (Microsoft) use it for anything ranging from pure VR to AR experiences.

Enter XR...

About 2 years ago, we started seeing the abbreviation “XR” appear at industry conferences and events.At first, it seemed like a helpful abbreviation for any current and future ‘_R’ technologies (VR, AR, MR, PR, HR).

But on a deeper level, it’s a useful way to start thinking about all of these related technologies.

In much the same way that this entire set of 90’s technologies has been replaced by a smartphone and apps, we at Balti Virtual see AR and VR eventually combining into a single headworn device that allows for a range of experiences that don’t fit neatly into the “AR” or “VR” categories.

In the not-too-distant future, you will be playing a VR game on a headset like Oculus Quest, and a friend will walk into the room, triggering the game to pause automatically, and show a video passthrough view of the real world (likely with additional information overlaid).

Did your VR headset just transform into a AR headset?

No, it’s been XR the whole time!