Lesson 12 - Emerging Technologies

3.1. What are Virtual/Augmented/Mixed Reality?

A simple definition of these technologies is ‘human immersion in a synthetic world‘ (Seidel and Chatelier, 1997). The Franklin Institute provides the following more detailed definitions that attempt to distinguish between the different types of ‘synthetic’ worlds:

• Augmented reality (AR) adds digital elements to a live view often by using the camera on a smartphone. Examples of augmented reality experiences include Snapchat lenses and the game Pokémon Go. 
• Virtual reality (VR) implies a complete immersion experience that shuts out the physical world. Using VR devices such as HTC Vive, Oculus Rift or Google Cardboard, users can be transported into a number of real-world and imagined environments such as the middle of a squawking penguin colony or even the back of a dragon.
• In a mixed reality (MR) experience, which combines elements of both AR and VR, real-world and digital objects interact. Mixed reality technology is just now starting to take off, with Microsoft’s HoloLens one of the most notable early mixed reality apparatuses.

I will use the term ‘immersive technologies’ for all these technologies. However, verbal descriptions will always be somewhat inadequate in describing what are essentially multi-sensory experiences, combining vision, hearing, and movement. These technologies are something that needs to be experienced rather than explained if they are to be better understood.