- Augmented reality (AR) involves overlaying visual, auditory, or other sensory information onto the real world to enhance one’s experience.
- Retailers and other companies can use augmented reality to promote products or services, launch novel marketing campaigns, and collect unique user data.
- Unlike virtual reality, which creates its own cyber environment, augmented reality adds to the existing world as it is.
Augmented Reality vs. Virtual Reality
Augmented reality and virtual reality are often confused, so let’s clarify. Augmented reality uses the existing real-world environment and puts virtual information—or even a virtual world—on top of it to enhance the experience. For example, think of Pokémon Go, where users are searching in their real-life neighborhoods for animated characters that pop up on their phone or tablet. In the NFL, broadcasters use AR technology to better analyze plays.
In contrast, virtual reality immerses users into an entirely different environment, typically a virtual one created and rendered by computers. For example, virtual reality users may be immersed in an animated scene or a digital environment. Virtual reality can also be used to photograph an actual local location and embed it in a VR app. Through a virtual reality headset, someone can walk around Italy as if they were actually there.