Battle for Reality

By Tien-Tien Cheng

Escaping into hypothetical realities or even customizing the world around us may seem more like science fiction, but in actuality it’s science fact. The development of augmented and virtual reality in the past few years has quickly growing and becoming more ingrained and integral in our daily lives. Devices such as our smartphones and even headsets have begun to make appearances in the technological markets and in our homes. But if we ask ourselves, what is so special about augmented and virtual reality? What is unique about each reality? And lastly, where will augmented reality and virtual reality make an impact? These are some of the questions that we have and aim to find out.

Similarities and Differences

Augmented and virtual reality are technologies that focus on taking computer graphics and immersing the user, but they are unique in their own ways. Augmented reality is when a user is able to see and interact with the real world and computer graphics which are displayed by a device that can recognize images and create objects. Virtual reality on the other hand, takes a user and completely immerses him or her into a new world or simulation, taking him or her away from what would be considered as real reality.

Major Devices

AUGMENTED REALITY

Some of the largest companies in the business of technology have taken the steps to pursue either augmented or virtual reality. Google is one of the first companies, when they released the Google Glass Explorer Edition in 2013. Marques Brownlee, a tech guru on YouTube with over 2 million subscribers, describes the seven main features of Google Glass, like taking photo and video. Seven features seems minimal and almost unimpressive, but the Glass is one of the first headset devices that focuses on augmented reality. The development of the Google Glass has been put to the side at this moment as new leaders Ivy Rose and Tony Fadell, formally a Product Executive at Apple, emerge. Google does not plan release the Glass into the consumer market, until the they believe it is “perfect”.

Sony is another company that sees a future in augmented reality released the news for their headset device the SmartEyeglass in 2014. The concept of the SmartEyeglass is very similar to the Google Glass, making it a Glass competitor. In 2015 following the release of the SmartEyeglass, Sony released their prototype for the Smart Eyeglass Attach. The Attach’s design is very similar to the Glass’s, but differs because it is more sport focused and the user will be able to attach them to their own glasses. Out of the two Sony products, the SmartEyeglass is available for purchase, but the Attach is still in the prototype stages.

The latest and greatest device to enter the market of augmented reality is Microsoft’s HoloLens. The HoloLens, unlike many devices that are already on the market or in prototype stages, is still only a concept. Microsoft’s goal with the HoloLens is to go “beyond augmented reality and virtual reality by enabling you to interact with three-dimensional holograms blended with your real world”. Unlike the Glass and the SmartEyeglass, the HoloLens uses augmented reality by allowing users to interact with holograms or “objects made of light”. So instead of just telling a user the directions to their next destination or taking the next photo, the HoloLens wants to change the way humans interact with their environment. Even though it’s a project still in the works, Microsoft has taken the initiative to take reality to the next level.

VIRTUAL REALITY

For virtual reality, there has been a rise in VR devices such as the Samsung VR and more notably, the Oculus Rift. Most VR devices will encompass the user’s vision, taking the user into a new space. During Oculus Rift early stages, the main focus was on using virtual reality and applying it to games, but now it’s becoming more apparent that there can be more applications with virtual reality. Because the idea of virtual reality is to immerse a use completely into a new space, Oculus has also taken the initiative to create interactive movies where the audience will be fully immersed. Samsung has also taken virtual reality by using it to bring families together such as this case with a father and his soon to be born son. New devices and ideas of how to use virtual reality continue to enter the market. It even seems like phones might also make an impact too.

NEW COMPETITORS

There are still more companies that plan integrate augmented and virtual reality in their future devices and endeavors. Apple seems to be interested in creating devices that focus on augmented reality. It has not yet been confirmed if they will pursue augmented reality technologies, however if they were, their focus would be on style. Knowing Apple, “…wearables are meant to be worn and seen, thus they need to be fashionable or desirable to wear,” says Munster, who is an analyst from Piper Jaffray. The technology is there, but right now the prototypes for augmented reality seem clunky and unappealing making us question, whether or not the normal consumer will purchase and use them.

The potential that virtual reality has was not only seen by the creators of Oculus Rift, but the team at Facebook. In March 2014, Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook would be acquiring Oculus Rift, which they did for $2 billion. Zuckerberg’s goal is to further develop the technology by “mak[ing] Oculus a platform for many other experiences”, essentially creating a place for users to immerse themselves into new worlds.

It’s All About Preference

Whether augmented reality or virtual reality is preferred in certain domains is considered subjective. However, there might be certain characteristics that each reality has which would make it more preferable in some areas compared to others. First, augmented reality has been around longer than virtual reality. It should be known that our cell phones contain some aspects of augmented reality with many of the apps can contain some application of augmented reality. This reality has been in our phones for quite awhile, but we don’t necessarily acknowledge the augmented reality aspect of these apps. However new and more advanced augmented reality applications such as the previously mentioned HoloLens and the technology at MagicLeap still have yet to make a true impression of whether or not their technology will be successful.

Under virtual reality, gaming is most likely the most sought out domain to apply the Oculus Rift. Hayden Dingmen form PCWorld gives his opinion by explaining why VR is more preferable for the gaming enthusiasts. He does, at the beginning his article, does write because the HoloLens has not been created, it’s not necessarily known whether gaming be most preferred in augmented or virtual reality devices. However due to his experiences with current augmented and virtual reality devices, at this moment, virtual reality wins. Based on videos, and the each realities’ interactive purpose, we can somewhat predict where each reality is strongest. For augmented reality, being able to apply it to day to day activities, where you are constantly interacting with your surrounding would be where its strengths are most prevalent. For virtual reality, due to its immersive nature, its focus would be more on entertainment and experiences such as gaming, movies, or traveling to Mars, would be where its strengths would lie.

To The Future

Technology is always developing and at a very fast pace. New devices, discoveries, and applications are revealed to us constantly which keeps us on our toes to see the next best thing. Augmented reality and virtual reality are beginning to pick up with concept devices such as the HoloLens and devices that already exist such as the Oculus Rift. Though augmented and virtual reality both focuse on human and computer graphic interaction, each has its unique characteristics. Where their strengths will be applied and used is still somewhat of a mystery, but being uncovered day in and day out. We know that gaming will be one of the largest industries that each reality will try to develop for, but the potential for each technology is limitless with so main industries and domains to eventually tackle.