The pace of technological growth in the “R” industry is astounding. Unsurprisingly, an increase in glossary of related terms comes with the territory.
It’s not a shame, really, to mixed up some of those terms. It has become too common a scenario when clients approached me to inquire about AR service while they really meant VR and vice versa.
Hence after a while I made this educational info as one of the first slides in my pitch deck.
Let’s define them.
Virtual Reality (VR)
A virtual content where you block out the real world. Everything you see is digitally made. The HMD (Head-Mounted Display) is opaque. Example: HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear VR and Windows Mixed Reality. No, the last one is not MR, it’s just a marketing gimmick (screw you, Microsoft).
Augmented Reality (AR)
A virtual content that overlays the real world. You still see the world as it is, but there are digital elements floating in your view. These digital elements has no depth awareness. They are always visible on your view even if you are standing 1cm away from a wall. The HMD is translucent. Example: Google glasses.
Mixed Reality (MR)
A virtual content that interacts with the real world. Can be considered AR on steroid. MR involves spatial awareness so it knows the mapping of the real world and can be programmed to abide by it. E.g. if a digital object is behind your sofa, it should be occluded. Example: Hololens, Meta 2 and Magic Leap One.
AR and MR are often mixed up because visually they look similar. The defining factor is in spatial awareness.
Extended Reality (XR)
The umbrella term that encompasses VR, AR & MR.
Real Reality (RR)
Seriously, now we even need a term to define the real world. Yes, RR means the world as you experience through your 5 senses without any HMD.
For the time being these are all we need. Heck, I still can’t believe RR. I’m not sure if we need another term that confuses more than it explains.
But on the other hand, it indicates a Cambrian explosion in the market. No doubt even the slightest difference on a new tech will make the maker to define it differently for the sake of marketing.
The future in the ‘R’ industry is bright indeed.
