Both create an impactful environment, through their realistic and powerful compositions. However, Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) are slightly different technologies and produce distinct stimulus.

Besides their similar immersive offer, AR and VR differ significantly in their approach and application. Augmented Reality enhances the real-world scenario by overlaying digital content onto it. In Virtual Reality’s case, it proposes a replacement of real life by a simulated one.

 

 

 

AR: Making life Easier

Adding elements to live view, AR integrates digital information available to users in real time. It’s like mixing our perception between the real world and the digital environment: popular examples of AR include Snapchat filters, Pokémon Go, and IKEA’s AR furniture placement feature.

This technology includes digital information such as images, videos, or 3D models, and works through devices like smartphones, tablets, or AR glasses. The access to these revolutionary experiments, which may started in 1935 – something we will cover later in this article -, sometimes requires a visual marker such as a QR code or image.

AR is deeply implemented within sectors that some people don’t realise, like GPS, accelerometers, and other sensors to overlay digital content onto a user’s real-world environment without the need for markets.

Also in education, AR is, today, a decisive technology used to create learning experiences, allowing students to visualise complex concepts in several subjects. The same functionality is already used for clothing and accessories experiences – in retail -, medical training, surgical visualization, patient education, and many others.

 

 

 VR: An Alternative to Reality

Virtual Reality immerses users in a synthetic three-dimensional environment that allows interaction using specialised hardware, such as VR headsets or goggles. In this experience, users are isolated from the real world to be fully immersed and focus on the experience. VR applications range from gaming and entertainment to simulations and virtual tours.

More than just one technology, VR is an ever-growing set of tools and techniques that can be used to create the psychological sensation of experiencing life within an alternate space.

 

 

Technical Challenges of AR and VR

While AR and VR technologies attract tons of attention and investment, there is another side of the coin that may show us some potential challenges and difficulties when implementing this approach.

Understanding the technical challenges of AR and Virtual Reality VR is essential mostly for businesses concerned about developing and deploying these immersive technologies.

One of the ways to determine the success of AR and VR is how accurately this structure is implemented. The method that handles performance, the mapping, is called calibration. That’s why inaccurate tracking can lead to misalignment between virtual and real-world objects, resulting in a disorienting user experience. Calibration errors or sensor drift can further exacerbate this issue, impacting the overall immersion and usability of AR and VR systems.

Also, delivering high-quality graphics and realistic visuals is essential to create fascinating experiences. This involves rendering complex 3D models, textures, and lighting effects at high frame rates to maintain visual realism and immersion. Achieving real-time rendering of realistic graphics causes heavy demands on hardware resources, such as GPUs and CPUs. For this reason, balancing visual quality with performance is a constant challenge for developers.

 

The Beginning of AR: Older than the Internet?

The first AR technology was developed in 1968 at Harvard when computer scientist Ivan Sutherland created an AR head-mounted display system. The system was primitive in terms of user interface and realism, but it meant a turning point as a contribution to the beginning of Augmented Reality.

We had to wait several decades to watch the first commercial AR application, according to Harvard Business Review, in 2008. A German agency, in Munich, designed a printed magazine ad, for a model BMW Mini, which, when held in front of a computer’s camera, also appeared on the screen. The user was able to control the car on the screen and move it around to view different angles while controlling the piece of paper.

 

VR: The Prediction

In 1935, sci-fi writer Stanley Weinbaum published Pygmalion’s Spectacles. The plot was about a main character wearing a pair of goggles which transports him to a fictional world capable of stimulating his senses. Many consider this moment the true beginning of virtual reality, besides being inside the novelist’s imagination.

We had to wait until 1956 to watch the first VR machine gaining prominence. Cinematographer Morton Heilig created Sensorama, a large booth that could fit up to four persons at a time.

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