Augmented Reality is the answer to Virtual Reality’s fatal flaw

I’ve spoken a lot recently about the advent of virtual reality and made various proclamations about the huge impact it will have. I like virtual reality, and I want to see the medium flourish. Despite my optimism I am aware that there are a number of issues inherent in VR which may hold it back from widespread adoption. The experience of VR may be too immersive to be practical for most day-to-day applications. A solution to the shortcomings of Virtual Reality can be found in its cousin, Augmented Reality. Often grouped together and referred to in tandem, these technologies appear very similar on the surface. The truth is that these are two vastly different mediums. The application of Augmented Reality is diametrically opposed to the application of Virtual Reality, and AR may prove to be the medium which really revolutionises our digital interfaces.

The argument against Virtual Reality

Virtual Reality is going to change the way we consume content because it promises complete immersion. A story, a photograph or a film is a depiction of an experience; Virtual Reality places us within the experience, making us a part of it. It’s easy to see how this technology will become a new medium for entertainment, and has obvious applications in filmmaking and electronic gaming. We may soon see VR branch out of the living room and into the office as well. Already BMW is using VR as part of their design workflow, and Sydney company Ineni Realtime uses virtual reality to simulate and visualise massive construction projects before a single brick has been laid.

Read the entire article where it was originally published here