What is XR?
XR - or Extended Reality - is the umbrella term for the immersive technologies that merge the real world with the virtual. Through XR, we can extend the reality we experience by blending virtual environments with our real one or by creating fully immersive virtual experiences.
With applications across entertainment, education and industry, XR has the potential to transform the way we learn, work and interact with technology.
XR is a broad term that covers a continuum of immersive technologies, but there are three main categories - Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality & Mixed Reality.
VIRTUAL REALITY
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Virtual Reality (VR) is an entirely virtual 3D environment that you can completely immerse yourself in. Through a specialised headset, you can experience and interact with that simulated world as though you were there.
AUGMENTED REALITY
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Augmented Reality (AR) technology overlays digital information onto the real-world environment around you. Using the camera on a device such as a smartphone or smart glasses, AR captures your view of the world and adds virtual components, allowing users to enhance their real-world experiences with digital interaction.
MIXED REALITY
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Mixed Reality (MR) combines elements of VR and AR to create seamless real-time integration of the real and virtual world to create a brand-new digital environment using a specialised headset. Like AR, virtual objects are overlaid onto the real world, but MR takes it a step further, allowing you to interact with those virtual objects as though they were really there.
SPATIAL COMPUTING
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XR leverages spatial computing, which is the technology that allows us to understand and interact with a 3D physical space. By seamlessly blending virtual and real-world elements, spatial computing enables XR devices to perceive and respond to the spatial environment around them, creating an immersive experience for users to interact with in a more natural and intuitive way.