What is the difference between augmented reality and virtual reality?
Posted on May 10, 2022 4 minutes 659 words
Table of contents
Augmented reality, known as AR, and virtual reality, known as VR, are constantly emerging as the fastest and most impressive technologies of today. People may be confused about what these two technologies are. Are the effects we use in Snapchat augmented reality or virtual reality? We can travel to other worlds by wearing a headset, but is it augmented reality or virtual reality? The difference between these two technologies is very clear and now we will clearly explain the differences between the two technologies.
What is augmented reality?
Augmented reality, known as AR, integrates virtual elements into our lives as if they were real in today’s world. You can simply add an item such as a chair or armchair to your room using your phone, tablet, or AR glasses and see how it will look. Another well-known example is the Pokemon Go game, where the pokemon in the game appear as if they exist in our real world. Augmented reality does not end with just such examples. The filters that we change our faces and have a lot of fun with on Snapchat and Instagram are also made with augmented reality. Even translating, which we can do instantly with Google, uses AR technology. We learned what augmented reality is, but what is virtual reality and how does it differ from augmented reality?
What is virtual reality?
Virtual reality, known as VR, instead of adding virtual elements to today’s world, takes us to a completely reality-like virtual world with a headset we wear. With this technology, we can experience the virtual world we enter. By turning our heads, we can see different parts of this world and move freely in it. The best-known examples of this technology are in the entertainment industry. Many game developers are adapting their existing games for VR or developing VR games. For example, you can play Minecraft with VR and suddenly you can enter the world of Minecraft and do whatever you want there. Or you can experience a racing game as if you were driving the car. In addition to games, VR is frequently used in the educational field. A person in the medical field who is training for a surgical operation can study this operation as much as s/he wants with VR. In this way, it can both reduce the cost and eliminate the risk factor. Another example is to visit museums or historical places that have been created on a virtual level similar to reality. It is also possible to visit museums and historical sites that have been created virtually in a way that looks like reality. In summary, the boundaries of the worlds that can be imagined with VR are almost non-existent.
Summary
The differences between these two technologies can be summarized in a single sentence as follows: While augmented reality (AR) adds digital elements to our existing world, virtual reality, known as VR, can completely change our world and take us to other worlds beyond our dreams.
The main differences between Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality can be seen in the table below in summary.
| Augmented Reality - AR | Virtual Reality - VR |
|---|---|
| Combines real-world and virtual elements | Creates a completely virtual world |
| Used with devices such as phones, AR glasses, tablets | Used with Head-mounted Displays (HMDs) or VR Cardboards. |
| The real world and virtual world can be distinguished | Since it is entirely in the virtual world, everything consists of the properties of this world. |
| Basic examples: SnapChat and Instagram filters, PokemonGo, etc. | Basic examples are VR games such as Minecraft, car racing, simulated training, and digital versions of places such as museums. |
For more detailed information about augmented reality and virtual reality, you can read our articles “What is augmented reality?“ and “What is virtual reality?“.
