Augmented Reality (AR) vs Virtual Reality (VR)

▪ Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) are important terms in an increasingly digital world. Although they are two
different technologies, both terms are often used as synonyms. Those are called as immersive technologies (generating a 3D image which
appears to surround the user).
Virtual Reality
▪ Immersion into virtual reality is a perception of being physically present in a non-physical world. The perception is created by
surrounding the user of the VR system in images, sound or other stimuli that provide an engrossing total environment.
➢ VR is an immersive experience that isolates users from the real world, usually
with the help of a headset and headphones to help.
➢ Instead of incorporating things into the real world, it replaces the real world and
places users in completely new worlds.
➢ The technology allows users to use computer automation for a three-
dimensional experience.
➢ VR combines hardware, like headsets, controllers and treadmills and software,
like game engines, content management and training simulators to create the
full experience.
➢ The two main features of VR are immersion, which works by canceling out the
physical world and fully placing users in the virtual world, and interaction
which elevates the immersion experience by allowing users to control elements.
Sensorama combined full colour 3D video using a ➢ Several fields have incorporated VR, like retail, which allows users to try on
stereoscopic 3D screen, stereo audio, a vibrating chair,
smells and atmospheric effects, such as wind. clothes, accessories or even a new haircut.
Inventor: Morton Heilig, USA
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 Virtual Reality (VR)
▪ The automotive industry also uses VR, with companies like Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Tesla using the technology to build
virtual showrooms.
▪ The global automotive VR industry is predicted to grow to $54 billion by 2026.
▪ By using a VR screen, the user can perceive and interact in the digital world. This requires two lenses between the user and
the screen. They interpret the movement of the eyes and adapt the individual movement to the VR. Therefore, in this case,
extensive hardware is necessary to isolate the user from the real world.

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 Virtual Reality (VS): Pros and Cons
Advantages
•Immersive learning is possible in an interactive environment.
•Users can explore the virtual world in all its facets.
•The education sector benefits from these new possibilities.
Disadvantages
•A genuine interaction in the virtual environment is not possible.
•It is tempting to transfer one’s life completely to the virtual world.
•Even though training or learning in the VR environment is very beneficial, it cannot completely replace the real training experience.

Practical application of virtual reality (VR)

Virtual Reality enjoys great popularity especially in the field of video games. Nevertheless, VR offers many other possible applications:
•In the military, this technology is used in flight simulators or battlefield simulations.
•In sports, digital training devices help athletes improve their own performance and analyze their techniques
•In medicine, VR can be used for post-traumatic stress or anxiety. At the same time, the technology allows trainee doctors to train
surgical techniques.

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 VR products

Nintendo Labo
Oculus Quest VR Kit

Lenovo Mirage
Solo

Sony PlayStation VR

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 Augmented Reality
➢ Augmented reality is designed to superimpose digital elements onto the real world. It uses sensors to understand the world around it.
➢ With a combination of GPS, Gyroscopes (identify when a moving object switches directions, keep track of changes in rotational
angle over time, sense angular velocity & orientation in 3D space) and Accelerometers (a sensor typically in phones that measures
the acceleration of the device), AR apps can figure out where a user is and what direction they’re facing.
➢ When phone is tilted from portrait mode to landscape…that’s the gyroscope sensor along with accelerometers doing its thing.
➢ Sometimes they are used in games or, say, in augmented reality apps, when the image from the phone’s camera is superimposed with
some virtual elements. Step-counters work by tracking phone vibrations as the user walks. And if you flip your phone to mute an
incoming call, or tap the screen to wake up the device, these actions too are picked up by the accelerometer.

AR is a technology that projects computer generated augmentation on top

of reality helping us perform task better and efficiently 132
 Augmented Reality
➢ One of the most popular examples of AR is the Pokemon Go phone app, which allows players to locate and collect Pokemon
characters that pop up in the real world, like in the park, in the living room or on the sidewalk.
➢ TikTok even got in on the action when the company released its AR filters via their software called Effect House.
➢ This software allows creators to make filters that immerse users into worlds like a European art museum.
➢ There are other popular uses of AR in everyday life, like furniture companies like Ikea allowing customers to superimpose furniture
into their homes to decide if they like how it looks.
➢ Neurosurgeons using an AR scan of a brain to guide them through surgery and broadcasters during football games using AR to draw
lines on the field to analyze plays.

➢ A variety of apps that use AR, including some that allow

you to translate text using your camera, identify stars in the
sky, and even see how your garden would look with
different plants.
➢ You may have even previously used AR without realizing
it, while playing a game like Pokemon Go or using filters
on Snapchat
➢ 1st AR gadget: Sword of Democles (1968)
Inventor: Ivan Sutherland
(uses computer graphics to show user wire frame drawing)
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Applications of AR

➢ Google Map and Google

Lens are also two popular
AR apps

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 Common components of AR system
Processor – AR requires significant processing power to create the imagination needed and place it in the proper location for it to appear
to exist in a real-world environment. Processors may be incorporated in a mobile handset or embedded into a wearable device.
Display – In AR, imagery is created and then populated on some form of display. This can take several forms, depending on the specific
application. These include:
▪ Mobile handheld device – The smartphone or tablet screen is the most common way in which AR hologram imagery is viewed. A user
points his or her phone’s camera at a point of interest, and the live video hologram generated by the camera lens is overlaid with AR
information.
▪ Wearable device – Smart glasses such as Google Glass, Vuzix Blade, and Solos Smart Glasses are all designed as standard eyeglasses
that also contain a small display only visible to the wearer. The person wearing the augmented reality headset can see the real world by
looking straight through the lenses of the goggles, while the embedded display provides an informational overlay. VR headsets are less
common in AR environments because they do not allow the wearer to see the real world directly; instead, it has to be recreated in video
and displayed on the built-in screen, which is otherwise opaque.
▪ Automotive HUDs – HUDs, or heads-up displays, are systems that use your car’s windshield as a screen. A device projects an image –
speed, directions, etc. – from the dashboard upwards onto the windshield. The driver sees the reflection of this imagery as it bounces off
the glass like a mirror. HUD were mainly invented for mission critical applications like flight controllers and weapons system
dashboards. Critical information is projected on transparent screens mounted in front of the pilot.
▪ Holographic display is a type of 3D display that utilizes light diffraction to display a three-dimensional image to the viewer.
Holographic displays are distinguished from other forms of 3D displays in that they do not require the viewer to wear any special
glasses or use external equipment to be able to see the image

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 Common components of AR system
Camera -As the primary sensor required for AR to function, the camera feeds the live video to the processor, which detects key facets of
environment on which AR data is overlaid. camera itself does not process any of digital information; it merely provides the video feed.
Other sensors -AR is often designed for motion, so additional sensor types are required for operation. These may include spatial
sensors, such as accelerometers and digital compasses, which indicate the direction the camera is facing; GPS sensors, which track the
user’s location in the world; microphones, which incorporate audio data into the simulation.
Input devices -A user on the move is often not at liberty to type commands into a computer. As such, AR systems have been devised to
work with numerous types of input technologies. Foremost is the mobile device touchscreen, providing a natural interaction if a phone or
tablet is available. Other options include voice recognition technology, so users can control the system via speech, and gesture
recognition systems, which typically translate the motion of the user’s hand into commands.

Vuzix Blade

HUD of car HUD of fighter jet

Holographic display
Holographic display
Google Glass Solos Smart Glasses 136
 Role of Augmented Reality on Business
Design and construction - designers are using augmented reality to see what hypothetical products (or structures) look like in
real environments and to make virtual tweaks to existing products without ever laying a hand on them.
Maintenance and repairs -AR technology can guide technicians through the steps of repairing, upgrading, and maintaining a
wide range of products, ranging from industrial equipment to entire buildings. AR allows technicians to work on equipment
without having to refer to printed manuals or websites, overlaying detailed instructions-often visual-atop the machinery itself.
Training and education -Businesses are using AR technology to provide an immersive experience when training employees,
allowing them to more comprehensively visualize new products and concepts. Schools are following suit.
Healthcare -AR technology has made its way into the surgery room, with overlays showing the critical steps of an operation,
patients' vital statistics, and more.
Retail -From virtual makeup to virtual changing rooms, businesses are using AR to give retail shoppers a revamped,
modernized augmented reality experience when shopping.
Technology -Products like Splunk AR bring AR to major utility companies to improve responses during power outages,
and gain full visibility into the entirety of their data.
Marketing -AR concepts on packaging, point-of-sale materials, and even billboards give businesses a brand new-and much
more memorable-way to interact directly with customers.

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 Microsoft HoloLens: A most popular AR device
➢ HoloLens is a head-mounted
display unit connected to an
adjustable, cushioned inner
headband, which can tilt
HoloLens up and down, as well
as forward and backward.

➢ The HoloLens is a first

generation AR device. The
displays on the HoloLens are
simple waveguide displays
with a fixed focus of
approximately two meters.
➢ Display include cameras that
constantly map the wearer’s
environment
➢ Full six-degrees-of-freedom
movement, both rotation and
translation.
Microsoft HoloLens is an augmented reality (AR)/mixed reality (MR) headset developed and manufactured by Microsoft. HoloLens
runs the Windows Mixed Reality platform under the Windows 10 operating system. Some of the positional tracking technology used in
HoloLens can trace its lineage to the Microsoft Kinect, an accessory for Microsoft's Xbox 360. 138
Applications of Augmented Reality (AR)

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Applications of Augmented Reality (AR)

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 Augmented Reality: Pros and Cons
Advantages:
•Enables individualized learning and enhances the learning process.
•AR offers a wide range of applications that are continuously being improved.
•The technology makes it possible to increase accuracy and efficiency.
•Experience or knowledge can be shared over long distances.
Disadvantages:
•The costs of implementing AR are comparatively high.
•Many devices have only a low level of performance.
•A key disadvantage is the lack of user privacy.
•If the focus on security is neglected, the introduction of augmented reality can lead to a security breach.

Application: Augmented Reality (AR) in practice

•Fading in digital content over real magazines already works well in the printing and advertising industry.
•Users who want to translate texts into other languages can use modern translation apps thanks to AR technology.
•Augmented reality in construction and logistics is an attractive way to increase the efficiency of employees and the business processes.
•Augmented reality is an easy way to get in touch with customers, colleagues or technicians.

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 AR vs VR vs MR

▪ Mixed Reality (MR) brings together real world and digital elements. In MR, you interact with and manipulate both physical and virtual
items and environments, using next-generation sensing and imaging technologies. It is all about blending real world with VR
▪ Mixed Reality allows you to see and immerse yourself in the world around you even as you interact with a virtual environment using
your own hands—all without ever removing your headset. VR and AR converge in mixed reality.
▪ It provides the ability to have one foot (or hand) in the real world, and the other in an imaginary place, breaking down basic concepts
between real and imaginary.
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 MR vs XR

▪ Extended Reality (XR) is an umbrella term encapsulating

Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), Mixed Reality
(MR), and everything in between.
▪ XR is revolutionizing everyday consumer experiences and
transforming diverse industry segments from industrial
manufacturing and healthcare to education and retail
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XR application

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MR application

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