About Immersive Technologies:
- Immersive technologies are an emerging suite of technologies that create interactive, engaging and realistic digital experiences.
- Features:
- These can combine the physical and digital worlds.
- They enable users to interact with digital content in ways that feel more natural and experiential.
- Users can interact with digital objects and respond to simulated situations.
- Unlike conventional digital media, these technologies can engage multiple senses and create a stronger sense of presence.
- Examples:
- A student can explore a virtual laboratory instead of only viewing diagrams on a screen.
- A tourist can virtually explore a heritage site before visiting it physically.
- The three most common forms of immersive technology are Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR). Collectively, these technologies are often referred to as Extended Reality (XR).
- Extended Reality (XR):
- It refers to technologies that combine real and digital environments through computer systems and wearable devices.
- It creates different levels of interaction between people and digital content. XR includes Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) and Mixed Reality (MR).
- Virtual Reality (VR):
- It creates a completely digital environment that surrounds the user.
- It mainly engages sight and sound to create a strong sense of presence.
- Users can explore and interact with this simulated environment using specialised devices.
- Augmented Reality (AR):
- It adds digital information to the user’s existing physical surroundings. It can engage sight and sound, while keeping the real-world environment visible.
- For example, AR can display directions, information or digital objects over the physical world.
- Mixed Reality (MR):
- It combines the physical and digital worlds in an interactive environment.
- It can engage sight and sound, while allowing digital objects to interact with physical surroundings. Users can see and interact with digital objects as if they were part of the real environment.
