Mixed Reality’s Promised Land: Bridging Virtual and Reality
As virtual and augmented reality technologies continue to evolve, the concept of mixed reality (MR) has started to emerge as a compelling new frontier, able to seamlessly blend the digital content with the physical real world.
In this post, I’ll try to explore the predictions and possibilities surrounding mixed reality, from adaptive storytelling, physical activity games for kids, and the potential for social telepresence that will probably allow MR to become the killer app for businesses in the years to come.
Defining the Mixed Reallity Landscape
Before diving in, it is crucial to understand correctly the technological terminology behind these concepts. Virtual reality (VR) refers to fully immersive experiences created by wearing a headset with stereoscopic displays able to track the position and where the user is looking to transport them into digitally rendered environments.
Augmented reality (AR), on the other side, is about overlaying digital content onto the real world user field of view and thus way augment the perception of reality. Some examples of this technology have been seen in games like Pokemon World usng smartphones, or in devices more sophisticated like Magic Leap or HoloLens.