Virtual Reality vs. Augmented Reality: What are the differences?

Augmented and Virtual Reality have been and are being developed for different use cases. For some, a completely digital environment is necessary, for others, individual virtual elements are sufficient.

Virtual Reality (VR) provides digital spaces for a wide variety of purposes:

• Architecture and design: VR makes it possible to virtually inspect and adapt buildings and interiors before the actual construction takes place. Architects can present their designs in an immersive environment and make changes in real time.
• Medical trainings: With the help of Virtual Reality, surgeons and doctors can practice operations and medical procedures in a virtual environment before they are performed on real patients.
• Scientific and technical simulations: VR helps engineers and scientists to visualize and test designs of machines, vehicles or constructions in a 3D environment before building expensive prototypes.
• Military training: VR was used early on to simulate operational scenarios in which soldiers could safely exercise.
• Flight simulation: VR flight simulators help pilots to develop their skills even before they sit in a real airplane for the first time.

The technology has since found its way into retail and e-commerce as well as entertainment - especially video games, films and leisure activities.

Augmented Reality (AR) was originally envisioned as a tool to enhance human perception and performance:

• Education and training: AR applications are being developed for apprenticeships and professional development in different sectors, offering learners a visual and interactive presentation of content directly in the real environment. This allows theoretical knowledge to be combined with practical experience.
• Technical maintenance and repair: AR makes it possible to efficiently maintain and repair complex machines or systems. Detailed instructions or information are shown on a display above or next to the relevant components so that technicians know exactly what to do even without looking at the manual.
• Medical applications: AR systems help with the training of medical professionals, for example. Organs or bodies can be depicted in more detail in 3D models than with photos and drawings in books. It is also possible for study groups to work on the same model from different locations.
• Research and science: Scientists and researchers use AR to display additional data or information in real environments, for example when analyzing environmental data in geoscience (e.g. with the AR Sandbox) or when working in aerospace.
• Manufacturing and production: In the industrial sector, AR projects information on assembly steps or quality control, as well as warnings, directly into the field of vision of the technicians.
• Optical systems: Head-up displays (HUDs) in airplanes, for example, which projected information from measuring instruments into the pilot's field of vision, were a precursor to AR. Today, AR is also integrated into night vision systems, for instance.

Today, the general public is particularly familiar with AR for consumer applications such as games and social media (e.g. filters on Snapchat or Instagram) and for on-road navigation (e.g. Google Maps Live View). AR is also increasingly being used in stationary retail and e-commerce, for example to make products more tangible than would be possible in 2D.

The basis for both AR and VR applications is initially always 3D content. In the case of Virtual Reality, this could be walk-through spaces, showrooms, scenarios in nature or similar. With Augmented Reality, single models, e.g. furniture or shoes, are projected into the real world.

3D applications offer numerous advantages in marketing, retail and e-commerce and can be used in a variety of ways:

Enhanced product presentation. Customers can view 3D models of products realistically and interactively from all perspectives. This opens up new opportunities for manufacturers of large machines, for example, to showcase their products and new developments at trade fairs using VR or AR at a comparatively low cost.

Increased customer satisfaction. Detailed and realistic 3D views of a product lead to purchasing decisions based on better information, which also reduces the return rate. If you can use AR to place glasses onto your own face or project a wardrobe into the corner of a room, you can get a better feel for whether the dimensions and style will really fit in the end.

Flexibility of time and location. This is an advantage of 3D-supported showcases that can have a positive impact on a wide range of products and services. Customers are not dependent on the opening hours of a store, but can shop around the clock and from anywhere. People attending further education courses use AR or VR-supported teaching materials in the evenings and at weekends. A visit to a virtual museum is also possible at precisely the times when those interested have the time and leisure to do so.

Innovative marketing concepts. 3D visualizations are easily adaptable for different marketing channels. For example, you can advertise a product on social media platforms with 360-degree product videos and on a website with an interactive 3D advertising banner.

Competitive advantage. Your company stands out from the competition through the utilization of 3D technologies. Companies that use enhanced, animated and information-rich product presentations can usually expect higher revenues.

3D therefore not only improves the shopping experience for customers, but also offers companies considerable business advantages. And rooom facilitates access to this through the web-based presentation of any 3D content.

While product presentation using AR technology is primarily suitable for e-commerce applications, Virtual Reality particularly supports the immersive experience of environments (showrooms, events, real estate, museums, classrooms).

If you work with the rooom platform, 3D content generated once can be used for both VR and AR scenarios, for example for a museum in which the audience wanders through the spaces and views the exhibits in a 360-degree view.

rooom is continuing to expand the platform for WebVR, i.e. for virtual content that can be displayed in a web browser and does not require any additional apps. This makes access to VR as simple and cost-effective as possible for users, as web-based experiences are accessible with any operating system and any device.

Software such as the rooom platform and web browsers are being further developed; the development of hardware for desktop computers, tablets and smartphones - as well as headsets - is not stopping either. This is why we can expect 3D, AR and VR to offer many more exciting, entertaining and educational immersive experiences for a large target group in the future.