HOW AUGMENTED REALITY IS DIFFERENT FROM VIRTUAL REALITY
Considering the technological advancements that are occurring at a rapid pace, every day we come across new developments in almost every field. Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality are two terminologies that are gaining momentum in today’s era. Augmented reality is somewhat similar to virtual reality as they both perform the function of changing our perception of the world around us. This technology functions by changing our present perception of reality. However, there is a slight difference between the two. Let’s have a look into it.
Virtual Reality
Virtual Reality is an artificial, computer-generated simulation or recreation of a real life environment or situation. It immerses the user by making them feel like they are experiencing the simulated reality firsthand, primarily by stimulating their vision and hearing. [1]
Augmented Reality
Augmented reality is the blending of virtual reality and real life, as developers can create images within applications that blend in with contents in the real world. With AR, users are able to interact with virtual contents in the real world, and are able to distinguish between the two. [2]
Virtual Reality (VR) aims at interactive computer-mediated immersive simulations of environments or experiences typically involving sight, sound, and touch. Simulations involving a blending of real and virtual objects is often referred to as Augmented Reality (AR). [3] Augmented Reality superimposes a computer-generated image on a user’s view of the real world, thus providing an amalgamated view. It blends digital components into the real world. Whereas Virtual Reality isolates you from the reality and provides an alternative view of reality that is self-created. AR doesn’t isolate you from reality completely, but adds a layer of data through computer graphics.
To conclude we can say that users experiencing augmented reality are in touch with the real world while undergoing interaction with the computer generated objects created around them whereas users experiencing Virtual Reality are completely cut off from the real world and are deeply indulged into the virtual world that is created around them.
