Disha Sharma Member
A creative writer and designer with on point sketching tricks.

VIRTUAL REALITY and AUGMENTED REALITY

Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality seem to be hot buzz words in recent times which all may have heard before. Coming across a piece about VR and AR is so common these days. Well, VR and AR are guaranteeing colossal growth that it is inevitable to talk about it and engage everyone in the concerned fields.
The thing that makes VR and AR different from any other form of technology is that it directly affects the perception and processes of the human mind.

Virtual Reality

The term Virtual Reality was coined by Jaron Lanier, an American Computer scientist. VR is the computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional image or environment that can be interacted with in a seemingly real or physical way by a person using special electronic equipment, such as a helmet with a screen inside or gloves fitted with sensors. This kind of setup is possible through a coding language namely VRML (Virtual Reality Modelling Language). VRML is employed to generate a series of images and stipulate what types of synergies are possible linking them.

Augmented Reality

The term Augmented reality is the brainchild of researcher Thomas Caudell in 1990. Augmented reality is an interactive adventure of a real-world environment where the objects that reside in the real world are enhanced by computer-generated perceptual information, sometimes across multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory and olfactory.
In simpler terms, it is the unification of the real and virtual world. AR technology is used to display score overlays on telecasted sports games and pop out 3D emails, photos or text messages. Masters of the tech industry are also using AR to do wondrous and unprecedented things with holograms and motion animated instructions. Pokemon Go, Snapchat face filters are primitive forms of AR.

History

The origins of VR as a technology can be traced back to 1962 when filmmaker Morton Helig created the Sensorama. It was an archaic style cabinet with a 3D display, vibrating seats, stereo sound. One of the experiences was riding a motorcycle down the streets of Brooklyn, a viewer would have a 3D view of the streets simultaneously feeling the vibration of the seat. Ivan Sutherland, considered as the Godfather of VR, created the Sword of Damocles in 1968.

The Differentiation

Augmented reality and virtual reality are transposed reflections of one in another with what each technology solicits to accomplish and deliver for the user. Virtual reality offers a digital recreation of a real-life setting, while augmented reality addresses virtual elements as an overlay to the real world. Augmented reality intensifies occurrences by adding virtual components. Contrastingly, virtual reality creates something fully computerized.
Virtual Reality is usually conveyed to the user through a head-mounted, or hand-held controller. Augmented reality is being used more and more in mobile devices such as laptops, smartphones, and tablets.

The Integration

They leverage some of the same types of technology, and they both are to serve the user with an enhanced or fortified experience. Both technologies facilitate experiences that are becoming more commonly demanded and sought after for entertainment purposes. Both have surpassing potential in reshaping the panorama of the pharmaceutical field by making things such as remote surgeries a substantial possibility. These technologies have been already been used to heal and repair psychical forms such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Conclusion

With the evolution of technology into daily life, we now live in a world of experience-driven global connectivity. Well, there is a large number of people who do believe that both AR/VR will fade out like previous life cycles of technology of the 80s-90s. The thing to know here is that the underlying technology is vastly more powerful for this age. We just need the right blend of killer VR/AR application and consumer demand to really begin the alter reality spark.