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XR ( extended Reality) - What you need to know about this technology

XR (Extended Reality) is a newly added term to the dictionary of technical words. It refers to all real-and-virtual combined environments and human-machine interactions generated by computer technology and wearables. Extended Reality includes all its descriptive forms including Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR). It’s a wide range of immersive tools that use and enhance our natural senses. And, the impact will be a more intuitive relationship between the real and virtual worlds. The concept of Extended Reality has actually been around much longer than most people realize; since Charles Wyckoff filed a patent for an Extended Reality film in the 1960s.

In recently companies have begun to really unlock the potential of the Extended Reality landscape, thanks to the evolving technology we have access too. Advanced smart-phones are capable of tracking everything from eye movement to positioning is paving the way for “AR.” Intelligent sensors and ultra-high-definition lenses are introducing us to new instance of “VR”. Companies are rapidly developing supporting technologies for XR platforms, ranging from high-performance hands-free headsets to AI-enabled tools for capturing the information and translating it into extended reality environments.

The Three Types of Extended Reality (XR)

In currently, there are three forms of extended reality in the marketplace, each defined by the level of interaction between the virtual and real worlds such as:

Augmented Reality (AR)

Augmented Reality is perhaps the best-known of the Extended Reality environments available in today. Augmented Reality expands on the real world by implementing virtual information, objects and data into the world around use. Virtual elements can feature everything from animations and images to text and video streams.

Lately, AR solutions have been growing at a much faster rate than other modes of extended reality, due to their accessibility. AR solutions are frequently implemented into smart-phones, which most consumers have already. This helps to generate very fast adoption of AR tech, because people do not need to purchase additional hardware to access AR.

For instance - AR most people are familiar with is “Pokémon Go,” an app which allows users to hunt specific creatures and see them in the real world through their smart-phone.

Augmented Reality can:

• Generate stronger communication and collaboration experiences
• Boost retail interactions with “try before you buy” experiences for customers
• Improve interactions between companies and consumers through immersive service, support, and even instruction manual experiences.
• Deliver real-time guidance and information to professionals for better productivity
• Offer hands-free assistance to staff through smart glasses with information streaming

Virtual Reality (VR)

Virtual Reality, is replaces the real world almost entirely, by creating unique, interactive virtual spaces for the users to step into. Unlike with AR, people using VR need specially-created hardware, including headsets (for seeing a virtual space) and sensors or controllers (for interacting with the space). Some devices also need a computer connection. Virtual Reality first rose to fame in the entertainment industry, as a way to immerse gamers in unique experiences powered by their game consoles. In recently, the virtual reality has grown to be a far more diverse technology with various use cases, particularly as the technology becomes more affordable.

Virtual reality can:

• Improve efficiency and productivity in product design processes Create unique consumer/brand experiences for major companies
• Assist with safely training employees in complex situations
• Enable the quick prototyping and discovery of new product ideas
• Create virtual meeting rooms for collaboration between teams

Mixed Reality (MR)

Mixed Reality is get start to the little confusing for most people in the XR landscape. Initially, various people assumed “MR” was just an extension of augmented reality. Both technologies mix the real and virtual worlds, after all. Nevertheless, Mixed Reality is a little more complex than this. While augmented reality embeds digital content into the real world, mixed reality actually merges the two environments to produce new visualizations, opportunities, and interactions. With mixed reality, you can have holographic meetings with colleagues and interact with the digital twin of a product for quick innovation. Mixed Reality is still in its early stages, but companies like Microsoft are introducing us to new possibilities all the time.

Mixed reality can: 

• Enhance training and development strategies
• Align teams across geographies using holograms
• Change the way we interact with machinery in the modern world
• Create immersive product building and design experiences
• Offer real-time guidance and support to staff in dangerous situations

Future of Extended Reality

The various companies investing in the future of extended reality will need to consider carefully how they can manage issues such as:

• Expensive hardware: While affordable tools for Extended Reality are beginning to emerge in the modern market, the very advanced solutions can still be more expensive. Further innovation will be necessary to create products accessible to all budgets.
• Consumer comfort: Clunky, uncomfortable, and disorienting headsets can make it difficult for the people to spend longer amounts of time in Extended Reality. Consumer comfort will be a necessity for the future of Extended Reality development.
• Security and safety: A lot of the benefits for Extended Reality rely on the ability of tools to safely transfer data and information. Security and privacy concerns will need to be addressed by tomorrow’s Extended Reality vendors.

Despite a number of possible challenges, demand for Extended Reality is definitely on the rise. Sales for virtual and augmented equipment are set to continue growing strongly over the next upcoming 5years, reaching above 70 million units sold per year in 2025.