DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AR and VR
Augmented Reality vs. Virtual Reality – What’s the Difference?
VR? AR? Sorry, I’m confused.
Tech(nology) can change the way you look at the world.
Augmented reality and virtual reality are two of the ways that tech can change the way you look at the world. The terms can be confusing. Sometimes people think AR and VR are the same thing.
Augmented reality and virtual reality are increasingly used in technology, so knowing the difference is important.
Putting a VR headset over your eyes will leave you blind to the current world, but will expand your senses with experiences within. The immersion is actually quite dramatic, with some users reporting feelings of movement as they ascend a staircase or ride a rollercoaster within the virtual environment.
AR allows individuals to be present in the world but hopefully allows an improvement on what’s happening presently. Augmented reality however, takes our current reality and adds something to it. It does not move us elsewhere. It simply "augments" our current state of presence, often with clear visors.
Augmented Reality
Augmented reality is defined as "an enhanced version of reality created by the use of technology to add digital information on an image of something."
AR is used in apps for smartphones and tablets. AR apps use your phone's camera to show you a view of the real world in front of you, then put a layer of information, including text and/or images, on top of that view.
Apps can use AR for fun, such as the game Pokémon GO, or for information, such as the app Layar.
The Layar app can show you interesting information about places you visit, using augmented reality. Open the app when you are visiting a site and read information that appears in a layer over your view.
You can also find money machines, see real estate for sale, find restaurants, and more using the AR feature of the app. You may even discover new sites you did not know existed.
This video shows you how augmented reality works with the Layar app.
Virtual Reality
Virtual Reality is defined as "the use of computer technology to create a simulated environment."
When you view VR, you are viewing a completely different reality than the one in front of you.
Virtual reality may be artificial, such as an animated scene, or an actual place that has been photographed and included in a virtual reality app.
Virtual reality may be artificial, such as an animated scene, or an actual place that has been photographed and included in a virtual reality app.
With virtual reality, you can move around and look in every direction -- up, down, sideways and behind you, as if you were physically there.
With virtual reality apps, you can explore places you have never been, such as the surface of Mars.
Google Earth also has a virtual reality app.
Now, games have polygon counts in the billions, and they are only getting better. Trailers for new games these days are looking more and more like movies than games, and that bodes well for the future of VR and AR experiences.
Augmented Reality vs. Virtual Reality – What’s the Difference?
VR? AR? Sorry, I’m confused.
Tech(nology) can change the way you look at the world.
Augmented reality and virtual reality are two of the ways that tech can change the way you look at the world. The terms can be confusing. Sometimes people think AR and VR are the same thing.
Augmented reality and virtual reality are increasingly used in technology, so knowing the difference is important.
Putting a VR headset over your eyes will leave you blind to the current world, but will expand your senses with experiences within. The immersion is actually quite dramatic, with some users reporting feelings of movement as they ascend a staircase or ride a rollercoaster within the virtual environment.
AR allows individuals to be present in the world but hopefully allows an improvement on what’s happening presently. Augmented reality however, takes our current reality and adds something to it. It does not move us elsewhere. It simply "augments" our current state of presence, often with clear visors.
Augmented Reality
Augmented reality is defined as "an enhanced version of reality created by the use of technology to add digital information on an image of something."
AR is used in apps for smartphones and tablets. AR apps use your phone's camera to show you a view of the real world in front of you, then put a layer of information, including text and/or images, on top of that view.
Apps can use AR for fun, such as the game Pokémon GO, or for information, such as the app Layar.
The Layar app can show you interesting information about places you visit, using augmented reality. Open the app when you are visiting a site and read information that appears in a layer over your view.
You can also find money machines, see real estate for sale, find restaurants, and more using the AR feature of the app. You may even discover new sites you did not know existed.
This video shows you how augmented reality works with the Layar app.
Virtual Reality
Virtual Reality is defined as "the use of computer technology to create a simulated environment."
When you view VR, you are viewing a completely different reality than the one in front of you.
Virtual reality may be artificial, such as an animated scene, or an actual place that has been photographed and included in a virtual reality app.
Virtual reality may be artificial, such as an animated scene, or an actual place that has been photographed and included in a virtual reality app.
With virtual reality, you can move around and look in every direction -- up, down, sideways and behind you, as if you were physically there.
With virtual reality apps, you can explore places you have never been, such as the surface of Mars.
Google Earth also has a virtual reality app.
Now, games have polygon counts in the billions, and they are only getting better. Trailers for new games these days are looking more and more like movies than games, and that bodes well for the future of VR and AR experiences.