Virtual Reality (VR) vs. Augmented Reality (AR) the Differences between AR and VR

     

        A lot of people do not know that augmented reality and virtual reality are different things. I have seen on many occasions that people refer to augmented reality headsets and systems as virtual reality. I see how this is a common misconception I mean the headsets look similar and can be used for similar purposes like gaming and simulations. But I am going to clear up some of the confusion by giving basic examples of each below. 

Virtual Reality 

Virtual Reality is the immersion of ones self (mainly by sight and hearing) in an entirely different world.  Meaning when you put on the virtual reality headset you don't see the real world, you can only see and hear the fake world. Virtual Reality is used commonly for playing video games and training simulations for pilots and military. The more common Virtual Reality Systems include the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Samsung Gear VR, and Google Cardboard. The Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive require a high performing computer. The Samsung Gear VR and Google Cardboard all run off of smartphones. There are many VR apps and games for these systems on various smartphones app stores. 

Augmented Reality

         AR is essentially a mix of Virtual Reality and the Real World. Augmented Reality is a computer overlay  that is atop your view of the real world. One of the simplest examples of AR would be snapchat filters because if you look into your phone camera you see the real world and then a filter is applied putting a computer overlay of a hat on your head or it adds some sort of coloring effect to your face.

          Another form of Augmented reality is called mixed reality. Mixed Reality is a computer overlay that you see in the real world except,the computer overlay can interact with you and your world. For example if you have a AR headset on and you are playing a game where you can have a little man walk around the room and you can  point or tell him where to go in the room.  Augmented reality is being used in the real world for many phone applications, for navigation, for military, and it has many more uses. Some popular AR gear include the Microsoft Hololens and  Google Glass. These headsets allow for high tech AR games and Applications to be run. While popular Augmented Reality phone apps include Snapchat and Pokemon Go.

Well I hope I cleared up the confusion between Augmented and Virtual Reality. Please Comment your questions and thoughts below thank you for reading.