Virtual Reality Vs Augmented Reality

What is alternative reality? When someone hears the phrase they may think of a faraway time where the world changes forever, or perhaps a science fiction story that shows a fantasy world that still relates to home. Both are correct but recently this term is being used to categorize the topics of both augmented and virtual reality. Even these terms still sound like a science fiction plot but have already started production and will soon be part of many people’s daily lives. Virtual reality, something that has been fantasized and thought of for years and years is finally becoming more and more possible each day. For years we just didn’t have the technology to have anything close to virtual reality. We have made fantastic strides to combat this …show more content…
Augmented reality also involves a a foreign device in front of the eyes but does it in a much different way. The device is much less obtrusive and much more portable then a typical virtual reality machine. This is because instead of taking your reality and putting it to the side and creating all all new one augmented reality fuses the virtual and real aspects together. While virtual reality puts you in a completely different world, augmented reality amplifies and goes off of the world that already exists to the human eye. For example a product known as Google glass is basically just an ordinary set of glasses with a small screen attached to one of the lenses. It is by no means undetectable, but is a substantial difference from a huge headset that covers one third of your face in addition to wearing headphones as is needed for virtual reality …show more content…
Because of the lack of true representation on most companies sites they often get returns or calls wanting a refund for the purchase. The consumer is also upset because the product is not what they had pictured and now has to wait for the product to be returned back for a refund or get a similar product. Furthermore, some people are on such a strict time management schedule that they simply don't have the time to go through the return process. They in turn have to settle for an inferior product and leave with a feeling of dissatisfaction. This is when augmented reality can come into play, even today on a small scale people are starting implementing augmented reality into the shopping experience and its a truly amazing concept. For example a company called Snapshot can help ordinary people visualize what furniture from big companies would look like in their very own home. It is activated by the camera app on a smartphone and overlays the furniture over the regular view of the room that you are seeing. Seeing how a certain couch looks like live on your screen from various angles as you scan the room is much more intimate then just glancing at a two dimensional picture online. By seeing it in the actual dimensions and space it occupies in the room it even helps you visualize it even better then going to Ikea or another large chain in person and seeing how the piece looks in their room or