AR vs VR

As you navigated through the information on our site, you might have been wondering about how virtual reality fits into the training world. And really, what's the difference? Don't worry, we wondered that, too. We'll break it down for you.

Let's refer to the article "AR vs. VR Training: How to Choose the Best Technology" on the website for Roundtable Learning for some general definitions and differences.

Augmented Reality

"AR allows you to superimpose text, images, video, and even 3D models onto the world."

Advantages

• Safe learning environment

• Replaces need for equipment during training

• Not as expensive to produce as VR

Forbes.com adds that AR can:

• Motivate trainees because it is "a more imaginative and exciting experience"

• Help encourage trainees to retain information and skills

• Create less dependency on other employees, thereby allowing those employees more time to perform their own tasks

Disadvantages

• AR is not the correct technology to train for soft skills
  "For that sort of training, you don’t want to strip away the environment, since it’s an essential context for any and all soft skills training scenarios" (Roundtablelearning.com, 2022).

• It's still expensive even if it is less than VR, there is still equipment involved and it costs money and time to develop the software and program

Virtual Reality

"VR allows you to place learners in an entirely new reality...VR training is a more thoroughly immersive technology than AR, as it takes away your view of the real world and any distractions in it."

Advantages

• Experience is "real" for the learners, as this creates an environment around them

• It is safe experiential learning

• More flexible for development of soft skills and more advanced scenario-based learning

This blog on VirtualSpeech.com claims that VR:

• Allows workers to enter dangerous environments and make serious mistakes without serious consequences

• Isolates the learner from distractions

• Exposes the learner to repeated and controlled stressful situations

Disadvantages

• VR has higher costs for the initial investment

• Takes more specialized equipment

• Some VR users experience negative physical symptoms

• The company offering the training will need to think of an alternative way for people to learn if the learner can't use VR

"The border between the virtual and real world continues to break down, providing breathtaking experiences that, a short time ago, could only be found in the imagination of sci-fi writers" (Intel.com, 2022).

This quote on Intel.com is right. More and more we're finding that these technologies are mixing thereby letting us react more with our actual reality while using them. The term for this is mixed reality.

Wikipedia defines mixed reality as:

"Mixed reality (MR) is the merging of real and virtual worlds to produce new environments and visualizations, where physical and digital objects co-exist and interact in real time. Mixed reality does not exclusively take place in either the physical world or virtual world, but is a hybrid of augmented reality and virtual reality.^"

Author, Rebekah Carter, explained in her 2021 XR Today article that mixed Reality technology encompasses:

• Environmental understanding: The ability to map a space and superimpose information onto that space in a way that merges virtual and real-world content.

• Human understanding: Technology, enabled by sensors and cameras, which track the movements, speech, and inputs of human users.

• Spatial sound: 360-degree audio experiences designed to make digital experiences feel more immersive and realistic.

• Locations and positioning: The ability of XR technology to understand both its own position and the position of the user in any given moment.

• 3D assets: Fully three-dimensional content, accessible in the real world. Often, these assets are referred to as “holograms”.

Whether it's AR, VR, or MR- we're excited to see how the world changes through any of these lenses!