Augmented, Virtual, and Mixed Reality

Roadmap Overview

Augmented, virtual, and mixed realities reside on a continuum and blur the line between the actual world and the artificial world - both of which are perceived through human senses.

Augmented reality devices enable digital elements to be added to a live representation of the real world. This could be as simple as adding virtual images onto the camera screen of a smartphone (as recently popularized by mobile applications Pokemon Go, Snapchat, et al). Virtual reality, which lies at the other end of the spectrum, seeks to create a completely virtual environment and immersive experience for the user. Whereas augmented reality incorporates digital elements onto a live model of the real world, virtual reality seeks to exclude the real world altogether and transport the user to a new realm through complete telepresence.

Mixed reality, on the other hand, incorporates both of these ideas to create a hybrid experience where the user can interact with both the real and virtual world. These devices are typically fashioned as wearable headgear with visual displays and tracking technology that allow six degrees of freedom (forward/backward, up/down, left/right, pitch, yaw, roll) and immersive experience.