2016 has been a remarkable year that’s brought continued growth and awareness to the worlds of Augmented, Virtual and Mixed Reality. Set to become a $165 Billion dollar industry by 2020, there’s still a common question that lingers among many newcomers trying to understand this fast moving digital phenomena we are just beginning to watch evolve: What’s the difference between them and how will it impact the digital world as I currently know it?
Before we jump into the mind-blowing future Mixed Reality is set to usher in over the course of 2017, let’s first discuss the distinctions between Virtual and Augmented Reality. Their technologies are very similar but have some fundamental differences.
Virtual Reality (VR) is a digital environment that shuts out the real world. VR is able to transpose the user. In other words, it can bring us someplace else. Through closed visors or goggles, VR blocks out the room and puts our presence elsewhere.
Augmented Reality (AR) places digital content on top of the physical world you see around you. AR works by adding 2D or 3D layered content on top of real world objects or locations, allowing the user to unlock additional information that may be relevant, therefore turning the physical world around them into digital media.
