Immersive technology

Immersive technology refers to technology that blurs the line between the physical world and digital or simulated world, thereby creating a sense of immersion.

Components

A fully immersive, perceptually-real environment will consist of multiple components.

Perception

The following hardware technologies are developed to stimulate one or more of the five senses to create perceptually-real sensations.

Interaction

These technologies provide the ability to interact and communicate with the virtual environment.

Software

Software interacts with the hardware technology to render the virtual environment and process the user input to provide dynamic, real-time response. To achieve this, software often integrates components of artificial intelligence and virtual worlds.

Research and development

Many universities have programs that research and develop immersive technology. Examples are Stanford's Virtual Human Interaction Lab, USC's Computer Graphics and Immersive Technologies Lab, Iowa State Virtual Reality Applications Center, University of Buffalo's VR Lab, and Teesside University's Intelligent Virtual Environments Lab.