Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) – Now There’s Mixed Reality (MR)

The following is a brief, high level overview on the topic of ‘Mixed Reality’ for managers, students, and other parties interested in modern technologies.

According to Wikipedia, Mixed Reality (MR) involves the merging of real and virtual worlds to produce new environments and visualizations, where physical and digital objects co-exist and interact in real time. It is a hybrid concoction that encompasses physical reality, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and the use of immersive technology.  

VR and AR meet MR Using a head-mounted display Virtual Reality (VR) is fully immersive, which tricks your senses into thinking you’re in a different environment or world apart from the real world. Augmented Reality (AR) overlays digital information on real-world elements. It keeps the real world central but enhances your view by layering it with selected supplemental digital details seen through some form of head-mounted display or ‘smart’ glasses. Mixed Reality (MR) brings together real world and digital elements using a variety of next-generation sensing and imaging technologies. It provides the ability to have one foot in the real world, and the other in an imaginary place, breaking down basic concepts between what is considered real or imaginary.

Mixed Reality (MR) is a new-wave technology that combines aspects of both AR and VR. People often mistake MR for VR or AR. The key to understanding how these differ is that the two technologies of VR and AR work in tandem to create Mixed Reality (MR) systems. In some ways, MR can be viewed as simply an enhanced, more interactive kind of AR.

Mixed reality has already been used in applications across a variety of fields including medicine, the arts, electronic games, entertainment, immersive training, and by the military.

The following are selected articles on ‘Mixed Reality (MX)’ that you might want to read:

• What is Mixed Reality? - Mixed Reality

• Your Guide to Mixed Reality technology by ZDNet

• Mixed Reality (MR) Market Size by 2025

• What Is Mixed Reality and What Does It Mean for the Enterprise?

Have you tried using MR technology? What was your impression of this emerging technology?

Selected Links for Mixed Reality (MR) Microsoft 'Open Source’ Mixed Reality Toolkit Mozilla: Mixed Reality for the Open Web YouTube: What is mixed reality?