Clash of Realities: Virtual versus Augmented
Clash of Realities: Virtual versus Augmented
"Augmented reality" & "virtual reality" are terms that are sometimes interchanged. AR games and applications, like Pokemon Go, and VR headsets, like the Valve Index or Oculus Quest, are still popular. They sound very similar, and as technology advances, they begin to blend together. However, they are two distinct ideas with qualities that differentiate one from another.
Virtual Reality
Virtual reality headsets obscure your vision entirely, giving you the sensation of being somewhere else. When worn, the PlayStation VR, HTC Vive Cosmos, Valve Index, Oculus Quest, and other headsets are opaque and shut off your surroundings. You could assume you're blindfolded if you put these on when these are turned off. However, when the headsets are turned on, the lenses refract the LCD or OLED displays within, filling your field of view with what's being presented. It might be a 360-degree film, game, or just a virtual area created by the platforms' user interfaces. Visually, the headgear transports you to wherever it wants you to go—the real environment is substituted with a virtual one. 6DOF, aka Six-degrees-of-freedom motion tracking, is used in tethered VR headsets like the Index and PS VR and standalone VR headsets like the Quest 2. External cameras or sensors, or outward-facing cameras, provide this technology. This implies that the headsets detect the direction you're facing and the movements you make in those directions. With these 6DOF motion controllers, you can move about in a virtual area with virtual hands. This area is generally only a few square meters across, but it provides a more immersive experience than simply standing motionless and staring in different directions. The disadvantage is that you must be cautious not to trip over any cables connecting the headset to your gaming system or computer. Virtual reality exceeds your surroundings in games and applications, transporting you to other locations. It does not matter where you actually are physical. You may be a pilot sitting in the cockpit of a starfighter in games. You may virtually visit faraway sites as though you were there using applications. Virtual reality offers many options, many of which require replacing everything in your environment with something else.
Augmented Reality
Augmented reality improves your vision rather than replacing it. AR devices like Microsoft's HoloLens and other "smart glasses" are transparent, allowing its user to see everything in front of them as if they were wearing light goggles or sunglasses. The technology allows you to walk about freely while projecting visuals onto anything you're looking at. AR games and applications, such as Pokemon Go, use your smartphone's camera to detect your surroundings and display more information on top of it on the screen, extending the concept to smartphones. AR displays can range from basic and straightforward data overlays that show the current time to holograms that hover in the middle of a room. On top of whatever you are viewing through the camera, Pokemon Go places projections of a Pokemon onto your screen. Meanwhile, smart glasses like the HoloLens and others allow you to virtually arrange 3D décor and floating app windows all around you.
Compared to virtual reality, augmented reality has a significant disadvantage:
visual immersion.
AR applications only appear on your phone or tablet screen. Even the HoloLens can only display visuals in a confined area in front of your eyes, but VR entirely covers & replaces your field of view. When a hologram vanishes when it moves from a rectangle in the centre of your vision, or you have to gaze at a little screen while imagining that the thing on that display is in front of you, it's not particularly immersive. 3DOF can work exceptionally well with essential AR that overlays minimal information over whatever you are looking at. On the other hand, most AR apps need **6DOF **in some manner, which tracks your physical location so that the programme can display visuals in 3-D space at consistent places. This is why the HoloLens employs a stereoscopic camera and sophisticated pattern recognition to detect its location at all times and why more modern, AR-focused devices measure depth using several rear-facing cameras. The potential for augmented reality is practically endless. For years, mobile-based AR software has recognised surroundings and provided extra information as to what it sees, such as real-time text translation or pop-up restaurant reviews as you glance at them.
The Distinction Between Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality
Despite their very similar designs, VR and AR achieve two very different things in two very different manners. Virtual reality moves you away from the real world and into a different world altogether. Augmented reality augments reality by superimposing data over whatever you are already experiencing. Both are powerful technologies that have yet to catch on with the consumers, but they offer a lot of promise. They have the potential to dramatically transform how we use technology in the future, though one or both will succeed still unknown.
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