Immersive Reality (IR) is a technology that looks to engage a variety of our senses, often through visual aids and interactions with the user's environment. IR includes more commonly known technology such as VR (Virtual Reality), AR (Augmented Reality), and MR (Mixed Reality). This first type of technology was made in 1968 by Ivan Sutherland. The head mount could only display wire-framed shapes and used a computer instead of the camera.
VR technology creates environments for users to interact with and experience. These environments are often experienced through headsets, goggles, and phones. VR has a variety of uses, such as entertainment in the form of games, training simulations, educational activities, and social gatherings.
AR technology takes advantage of the real world and digital content. This is done through images, sounds, and holographic-like content. AR does not act as an independent environment but instead enhances our own.
MR technology is similar to AR technology as it overlays digital content onto our environments. But unlike AR, MR allows the user to interact with the digital content through interacting with the physical world.
My first experience interacting with this technology was in 2016 with the global release of the hit game Pokemon Go. This game would have people travel to physical locations and use augmented reality to catch different Pokemon. Upon its initial release, the app had a staggering 228 million downloads in its first quarter. This game consumed my summer in 2016 as my friends and I biked across the neighbourhood trying to catch them all.