There’s a lot of talk about augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) these days, but what are they? And what are the differences between them? AR is a technology that overlays digital information on the real world. For example, you could use AR to see digital directions superimposed over the street in front of you. Or you could use it to see digital annotations on a painting in a museum. VR, on the other hand, is a completely immersive experience. You put on a headset and are transported to another world. Everything you see and hear in VR is computer-generated. So, which one is better? It depends on what you want to use it for. AR has more practical applications, while VR is better for entertainment and gaming. But both technologies are evolving quickly, so who knows what the future holds!
What is Augmented reality?
Augmented reality (AR) is a technology that superimposes digital content and information onto the real world. This can be in the form of text, images, or video. AR is often used in mobile apps and games to provide an immersive experience for the user.
Usage of AR
AR technology can be used in a number of ways to improve the lives of individuals and society as a whole. Some potential applications of AR are:
1) Healthcare: AR can be used to provide doctors with real-time information about patients, their conditions, and treatments. This can help improve the quality and accuracy of diagnosis and treatment.
2) Education: AR can be used to create interactive educational experiences that allow students to learn in a more engaging and effective way.
3) Business: AR can be used to create immersive marketing experiences, or to train employees in new procedures and processes.
4) Entertainment: AR can be used to create new forms of entertainment, such as video games and movies that place the user in the center of the action.
I have listed down here some potential applications of AR:
If you are a foreigner and you can’t read the signs and you don’t have any idea about the businesses in that area, we can use AR as a guidance system with more information about the businesses around him.
We all have been clueless at least once in our life about how to navigate inside a big mall or in an university right? By implementing a real life navigation system using AR, it’ll help you to find your way without a hassle. It’s such a simple but interesting use of AR.
This can recreate the historical sites. Whenever you go to visit some ancient ruins and wonder how magnificent these buildings must have been, you’ll be able to see these as it was already there.
We are already using measurement apps on our mobile phone and some people has no idea that it was made using AR.
So, these are very few use cases of AR. these can go beyond our imaginations in near future. I’ll leave you to imagine how far it will take the education, gaming and marketing.
What is VR
Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that can be similar to or completely different from the real world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (e.g., video games) and education (e.g., medical or military training). Other distinct types of VR-style technology include augmented reality and mixed reality, sometimes referred to as extended reality or xR.
If you are an anime fan you already know this. There was this anime “Sword Art Online” based on VR gaming device.
Virtual reality is also similar to AR but the main difference is it’s not extending the real world. It has entirely different simulation of an alternative world. You need a VR device or a glass to experience this. It’s not only about the visual, it’s also has 3d audio as well. So the people can recognize where the sounds are coming from like in the real world, unlike videos.
And there are some instances that VR can be an extension to the real world. Meta quest pro was announcing few weeks back and it contains high resolution multi-screen workspace. It’s priced around 1499 $ and looks amazing. This will be an amazing experience to try this and I’m sure developers will love this feature.
Other than these use cases, VR also used in very creative way to illustrate arts and 3D animations. My favorite artist is goro fujita who create amazing visualizations using quill. You should check this guys work and it’s artistically brilliant.
Where should I start?
You should get in to meta. Download the “Meta Spark Studio” it’s free and you can start trying it immediately. It’s not that difficult to get started. You can do many creative activities like creating filters, Masks, AR business Cards, AR user manuals and so on by using this. There are plenty of tutorials available online.
