Virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality?
QMy grown-up boys see me as an old duffer, not least because I’m sticking with Windows 7. However, I’m intrigued by virtual reality (VR). Specifically, I like the idea of perhaps putting on an immersive headset to revive my lapsed interest in flying games, as Microsoft has announced a new version of Flight Simulator. However, trying to read up on all the terminology has left me confused by the difference between VR and ‘augmented reality’ (AR) and ‘mixed reality’ (MR), both of which I’ve seen mentioned. Will Flight Simulator offer VR? Derek Clinton
ABeyond a great-looking trailer (at www.snipca.com/31943), Microsoft has released very little detail about Flight Simulator. So, while we imagine VR compatibility is likely, no one knows for sure. We suspect your bigger problem might be Windows 7: the chances that Microsoft will make the new Flight Simulator compatible with an operating system it’s consigned to a dark hangar are essentially zero.
Now let’s consider the difference between those three buzzwords. VR is the easiest to explain and conceive, because it describes complete immersion in a virtual world. When you put on a VR headset – or perhaps more accurately, play a VR game – all you’ll see in the headset is the virtual world created by that VR game.
While there’s plenty of overlap, augmented reality is really something different entirely. Right now, AR is most closely associated with smartphones. An AR typically uses the smartphone’s camera to show a live image of the real world on its display, but it overlays this with computer graphics – from travel directions to animated-game characters that appear to exist in the real world.
Finally, MR is a hybrid of VR and AR. With MR, you’d don a headset (like the pictured HP model, around
£300 from www.snipca. com/31924) and might then see parts of the real world melded into the virtual world – perhaps enhanced by computer graphics. For example, you might stick a giant ‘virtual’ TV to your real wall, and watch it through the headset. So, you have the illusion of a giant TV in your living room without having to deal with its physical presence. You can read more about Microsoft’s own MR vision at www.snipca.com/31922.
Want to know the difference between technical terms? Email noproblem@ computeractive.co.uk