AR and VR technologies have seen rapid growth in adoption and applications over the past decade. Many people use these terms interchangeably to describe any form of altered or simulated reality. However, AR and VR differ from each other in many ways.
Companies around the world have adopted AR and VR in some ways for marketing, training, education, remote support, gaming, entertainment, medicine and other diverse fields. If you are looking for a new technology to give your career direction, it is better to know the basic difference between AR and VR, their applications in the real world and how much you can earn with it. Looking at market research, trends and developments, it's now clear that AR and VR technology isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
AR vs. VR - Overview:
Augmented Reality or AR creates a simulated environment by integrating digital elements into a real environment. AR apps help bring predefined elements into the world to show a different reality.
Virtual Reality or VR is a simulation of the world or an alternate reality. Its most common and recognized application is in video games and 3D movies. VR helps create a realistic and immersive experience, allowing the user to be part of this new simulation rather than just a spectator. It uses sensory devices and touchpoints to simulate the senses, such as VR headsets and haptic gloves.
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How does RA work?
Augmented reality technology enhances the user's physical environment with relevant, real-time simulated content. AR uses digital mapping, computer vision and depth tracking to deliver simulated content to an end user. It uses the camera on a digital device to collect, share and analyze data to share digital content that matches what the user is viewing.
How does VR work?
Virtual reality technology focuses on simulating the user's point of view. It requires an additional device, such as a headset or glasses, which users place over their eyes. The goal is to eliminate all real-world interactions and make the VR experience more immersive. There have been several advances in VR technology over the years, which now also employ auditory, visual and touch simulations. This creates a very immersive and realistic experience.
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Advantages of AR (Augmented Reality):
There are several benefits of AR.
- offers individuallyAR learning.
- Stimulates a learning process.
- It has applications in several areas.
- Offers continuous improvement and innovation.
- Increases accuracy.
- It helps to train users and increase awareness and knowledge.
- It helps create shared user experiences across great physical distances.
Advantages of VR (Virtual Reality):
Some of the benefits of VR technology.
- It offers interactiveVR learning.
- Increases productivity and skills.
- Offers more comfort.
- It helps create a realistic world for the user to explore. This world is highly detailed and offers unique experiences for users to choose from.
- As a VR world is simulated, users can experience new experiences and try new things as no real harm can happen.
Limitations of AR (Augmented Reality):
Every technology has its limitations and disadvantages. However, most AR and VR companies are working to eliminate these drawbacks. Therefore, most of these restrictions could be lifted by 2025.
Here are some disadvantages of AR technology:
- AR technology is expensive to develop, implement and maintain.
- Privacy is missing from today's AR implementations.
- Low performance with AR is a big drawback.
- RA is known to cause mental health problems.
- Long-term exposure to RA can lead to eye problems, obesity, and other health problems.
Limitations of VR (Virtual Reality):
Some limitations of VR are as follows.
- VR is becoming more widespread, but no user can realistically interact with this virtual environment.
- People often choose to ignore real world problems, using virtual reality worlds as an escape route. This is becoming a bigger issue with the growing applications of VR and growing problems in the real world.
- Training results in a VR environment differ significantly from results in a real situation. If companies want to replace real training with simulations, they need to create a metric that measures the parity between real and virtual simulated results.
Today's AR Applications:
- AR apps are developed and embedded with images, text, videos and other media to create a realistic experience.
- The advertising and print industries use AR-powered apps to simulate digitally animated content on static physical pages.
- AR scanning and translation apps help to interpret different languages and characters instantly.
- In the gaming industry, AR helps to create real 3D games with minimal additional hardware.
Today's VR Applications:
- The gaming industry is a hotbed for potential and diverse VR applications. Today, VR builds and enhances virtual gaming experiences.
- The military uses VR technology for battlefield simulation, flight simulation and training.
- Many sports and training academies also use VR as a training tool to measure players' performance and analyze their strategies.
- VR also helps treat post-traumatic stress.
- Virtual reality devices like the HTC Vive, Google Cardboard and Oculus Rift place users in both imaginary and real environments, such as rollercoasters or battlefields. It can also simulate worlds like mystical castles, distant planets and space travel.
- In the healthcare and entertainment sectors, VR offers patients a safe environment to interact with things they are afraid of.
- Medical students practice surgery and medical procedures in simulated environments. The use of virtual patients helps medical students practice and develop their skills for real applications.
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Difference between AR and VR:
As mentioned earlier, there are marked differences between AR and VR. Here are the differences to consider before deciding on a career path.
1. Modifying real-world environments versus replacing reality:
One of the fundamental differences between AR and VR is that AR simply adds digital or virtual elements to an existing physical environment for an enhanced visual experience. Meanwhile, VR excludes the real world and most of its sensations, replacing it with a fully immersive virtual reality. In VR, partial immersion is also an option that doesn't completely hide the real world. It is not yet possible to simulate all human senses in a single experience.
2. The projected revenue growth paths differ:
According to market research, VR technology's revenue share is expected to reach $150 billion by 2022. By comparison, AR was forecast to grow by $30 billion over the same period. While both growth paths are significant due to their limited current applications, VR anticipates significantly greater growth.
3. Different types of working mechanisms:
With AR, the platform can recognize predetermined markers such as user locations or barcodes to trigger AR activations. The software then delivers the AR animations to the recognized locations or markers on the screen.
In VR, VRML or Virtual Reality Modeling Language experiences generate an immersive sequence of various media that a web browser, application or device can pull in to simulate a virtual environment.
4. AR requires higher bandwidth than VR:
According to market research, VR requires 400 Mbps or more for streaming 360 VR videos. That's about 100 times the current demand for HD video services. 4K videos require at least 500 Mbit/s and more for VR headsets.
An AR application requires at least 100 Mbit/s with a delay of less than 1 ms. A minimum of 25 Mbps is required for low resolution 360 degree video. However, currently, high-quality video cannot be delivered anywhere near the camera-level resolution and dynamic range of 360-degree AR video.
5. Smartphone versus PC app usage:
Consumers can easily use AR in 2D and 3D environments such as mobile devices. In this situation, the device superimposes a digital element on a real space. In virtual reality, only 3D experiences with a headset offer the high-quality, immersive experience that VR technology provides. VR is best suited for PCs and computer systems and is not as mobile as AR. This gives AR an edge as more consumers switch to mobile browsing.
6. Multiple application development platforms:
Finding apps that use AR and VR technology on phones, computers, and other types of devices is common. But developing an AR app is very different from developing a VR app. Developing 3D experiences and content follows a similar process for both, but developing 2D experiences is different.
Careers and jobs in virtual and augmented reality:
Developing AR and VR technologies are creating many new business and job opportunities today. Experts predict that the AR and VR markets will reach a valuation of $209.2 billion by the end of 2022. Hardware and software development, research, graphic design and healthcare are just some of the industries being transformed by these technologies .
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Some of the most in-demand AR and VR-based jobs and careers today are:
- project management
- software development
- software development
- graphic design
- software maintenance
- health care
- Spielen
If you want to develop future-proof skills and build a career with a broad growth path, AR and VR technologies are strong career paths. Enrolling in an augmented reality or virtual reality training course will equip you with the skills and knowledge needed to have a successful career. Give your career the boost it needs and sign up for a training course today.
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