What is the difference between VR, AR and MR?

In brief, the difference between these reality technologies is as follows:

• Virtual reality (VR) is a completely digital environment that fully replaces the real world
• Augmented reality (AR) is an overlay of digital content on the real-world
• Mixed reality (MR) is when the virtual environment is not just overlaid on the real-world but it’s anchored to and interacts with it.

Here’s an informative infographic that explains the difference between VR, AR, and MR:

Now let’s go deeper into details.

Virtual Reality

In virtual reality, users are immersed in a fully virtual, computer-generated environment. To block out the real world, people need to wear special VR headsets that can be quite simple (in which a smartphone can be used as a display) or very sophisticated (that are full of sensors and even have built-in speakers).

Though arguably, 360-degree videos and photos are also considered a form of virtual reality as users are fully immersed in them.

Augmented Reality

Augmented reality adds digital objects to the real world. Do you remember the Pokemon Go game? That’s a great example of AR. You can experience this technology right on your smartphone (if it’s modern enough, of course) – just download a mobile AR application (lots of them are available for Android and iOS).

Of course, there are more sophisticated AR experiences that require special AR headsets like Google Glass.

Mixed Reality

Mixed reality is, probably, the most complicated technology that encompasses different forms of reality experiences.

• The most common form of mixed reality resembles AR – virtual objects are overlaid on the real-world environment but these objects can interact with it. If it sounds too difficult – check out how Microsoft HoloLens works and you’ll get what this is and how it works:

• A different form of mixed reality is more like virtual reality – when the digital environment is overlaid on the real world. How does it differ from conventional VR? It’s anchored to the physical environment. Imagine you are in your room and you’re wearing Windows mixed reality headset; the cameras and sensors on the headset will analyze the real-world environment and replace it with virtual objects. Have a look at this video showing this technology in action:

If you want to learn more about reality technologies and find out what devices you need to experience them, this article will help you.