in augmented reality (AR) the visible natural world is overlaid with a layer of digital content
The differences between VR, AR, and MR are best summed up by quote attributed to Clay Bavor:
VR is the power to take you anywhere, MR and AR is the power to bring anything to you
a CAVE (cave automatic virtual environment) is a virtual reality environment made up of between three and six walls that form a room-sized cube
Projectors display a virtual world onto the interior walls of the CAVE and are then controlled by the movement of an experiencer from within the CAVE.
an interactive device – often resembling a glove worn on the hand – which connects to a computer system and facilitates fine-motion control within virtual reality
the ability for a head mounted display (HMD) to read the position of the experiencer’s eyes versus their head
Eye tracking is particularly useful for informing VR analytics, where the developer wants to better understand what content the experiencer is focused on in a specific scene or view.
haptic technology simulates the sense of touch through the sensation of pressure (usually on the hands via a glove)
This helps to support agency by enabling the experiencer to control virtual objects or sense physical forces within the virtual environment. Haptics are a significant component in peripherals.
a set of goggles or a helmet with tiny monitors in front of each eye to generate images seen by the wearer as three-dimensional
the ability for an head mounted display (HMD) to monitor the position and orientation of the experiencer’s head through tracking
the time delay or lag between activating a process (change in input from the experiencer) and its accomplishment (the visual effect)
High-latency can lead to a detached experience and can also contribute to motion sickness / dizziness.
refers to the process of moving from one place to another
This is most commonly used to refer to movement within the virtual environment e.g. how an avatar navigates the virtual world, but can also refer to movement outside of the virtual environment e.g. how the experiencer navigates the real-world while in a virtual experience.
Locomotion mechanics in virtual reality can be broken down into three primary categories:
1. Perambulation
2. Teleportation
3. Transportation
mixed reality (MR) is similar to augmented reality (AR) except virtual objects are integrated into the natural world
For example, a virtual ball beneath your desk would be blocked from view unless you bent down to look at it.
a device that helps enhance a virtual reality experience by enabling greater immersion within the virtual world
The most common VR peripherals are gloves or controllers e.g. the Oculus Touch that look to mirror the experiencer’s innate movements and help to facilitate better active presence.
audio that is triggered based on the position of the headset
For example, in a crowded scene the experiencer would be given the ability to choose which conversation they listen to based on where they are looking.
New Wave by Directors Samir Mallal and Aron Hjartarson demonstrates the positional audio approach.
virtual reality (VR) places the experiencer in another location entirely. Whether that location has been generated by a computer or captured by video, it entirely occludes the experiencer’s natural surroundings.
WebVR is an emerging technology that aims to present virtual reality content in traditional web browsing interfaces
The experience is delivered through a JavaScript API that provides support for virtual reality devices. A work in progress specification – written by pioneering developers from Google and Mozilla – can be found on the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) github.
A demo of WebVR can be found on the A-Frame website.