Blurred Lines Between Augmented Reality VS Virtual Reality
https://arified.blogspot.com/2016/01/blurred-lines-between-augmented-reality.html
Augmented reality and virtual reality are two different domains. That's right. Although some would use these two words interchangeably but they are in fact two different things. Let us take some time and bring up our dictionary:
augment
1. make (something) greater by adding to it; increase
"he augmented his summer income by painting houses"
virtual
1. almost or nearly as described, but not completely or according to strict definition
"the virtual absence of border controls"
To put this in simple words, "Augment" means to improve upon something. Hence, "augmented reality" means improved reality. While "virtual" can bring the meaning of "close to real" or "not completely real". Hence, "virtual reality" is reality that is almost real.
Simple right? No, not really actually. You see, the idea of augmented reality is to improve the reality by adding a layer of information (this can be sensor data, road tracking, GPS navigation) which only exist in what I like to call the "Virtual Space" (example: headset, glasses, helmet, LCD display).
And so the question rises: How much information can you add into your virtual space, before the virtual space dominates your reality? Domination in such a way that you depend lesser on the reality space compared to the virtual space. Domination in such a way that the world is seems more artificial than reality.
And that is why, there is a confusion between virtual reality and augmented reality.
AR devices:
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| Microsoft's HoloLens |
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| Google's Google Glass |
VR devices:
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| Oculus Rift Development Kit |
No matter the differences, this year, 2016, is a big year for both these fields. In 2015, Apple Inc reported invested for augmented reality sectors while in January 2016, Apple Inc hired Doug A. Bowman, a three-dimensional interface specialist. The world awaits for the reveal of the next big AR device. This is a very good year. Cheers.
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