Technology is improving at a rapid pace, as many things emerging today can only exist in human being’s imagination before. Some of the impossible things rising to the occasion are the Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. Although they are very similar in terms of creating virtual objects, they are different in creating immersive environments for the audience. Recently, virtual reality and augmented Reality are not only used for gaming, but also there are companies explore their usage in education. Virtual reality and augmented reality provide a completely new way to engage with students and increases their retention.
Virtual reality (VR) is all about the creation of a virtual world that users can interact with. This virtual world should be designed in such a way that users would find it difficult to tell the difference from what is real and what is not.
Furthermore, VR is usually achieved by the wearing of a VR helmet or goggles similar to the Oculus Rift.
Augmented reality (AR) is a live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented (or supplemented) by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. AR is the blending of virtual reality and real life, as developers can create images within applications that blend in with the contents in the real world. With AR, users are able to interact with virtual contents in the real world, and are able to distinguish between the two.
Both virtual reality and augmented reality are similar in the goal of immersing the user, though both systems to this in different ways. With AR, users continue to be in touch with the real world while interacting with virtual objects around them. With VR, the user is isolated from the real world while immersed in a world that is completely fabricated.
AR and VR are inverse reflections of one to another with what each technology seeks to accomplish and deliver to the user. AR delivers virtual elements as an overlay to the real world, while VR offers a digital recreation of a real life setting. As it stands, VR might work better for video games and social networking in a virtual environment, such as Second Life, or even PlayStation Home.
In this report, we will first overview the concept, differences and similarities of the virtual reality and augmented reality. Then we will introduce the top companies working on education in virtual reality and augmented reality. In conclusion, Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality are the next big step forward in education.