Difference between AR, VR, MR
Written by Md Hridoy Bhuyan on 08.06.2022
Virtual Reality
Virtual reality is an artificial digital environment that completely replaces the real world. Imagine opening your eyes and seeing a computer-generated world around you; you can move around in this environment and even interact with it. This is what virtual reality looks like.
Complete virtual environment generated by a computer.
Users can move around a digital environment and hear sounds
Special hand controllers can be used to enhance VR experiences
Special VR headset required to experience virtual reality
Most are connected to a computer (Oculus) or gaming console (PlayStation VR)
but standalone devices (Google Cardboard) are also available
Most standalone VR headsets work in combination with smartphones
Augmented Reality
Augmented reality is the overlaying of digital content with the real environment. In other words, when you see the real world augmented with digital objects, that's AR. Imagine you want to buy a piece of furniture - a chair, for example. With the help of augmented reality technology, you can check how different chairs look in your room and choose the most suitable one.
Users see and interact with the real world while digital content is added => example: Pokemon Go - people searched with
their smartphones for little virtual creatures
AR apps can be easily downloaded to smartphones
Different ways to experience augmented reality, e.g. through AR headsets like Google Glass, where digital content is displayed on a tiny screen in front of a user.
Screen in front of a user's eyes
Mixed Reality
In mixed reality, you can see virtual objects just as you can in augmented reality, but those objects can also interact with the real world. In a sense, mixed reality is a more immersive and interactive type of augmented reality. Two forms of reality technologies that are referred to as mixed reality.
Mixed reality that starts with the real world
Virtual objects are not only superimposed on the real world, but can interact with it
This form of mixed reality can be considered as an advanced form of AR
Mixed reality that starts with the virtual world
The digital environment is anchored in the real world and replaces it
A user is fully immersed in the virtual environment while the real world is hidden, digital objects overlay the real ones, while in
conventional VR, the virtual environment is not connected to the real world around a user