httpss://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPMHcanq0xM
Virtual reality is a trip, but an even wilder ride could be around the corner as mind-bending startups and technology trendsetters try to emblazon the world with interactive holograms that enlighten, entertain and empower us.
Augmented reality has the potential to touch far more people because it’s designed as a seamless supplement to everyday living instead of an escape into the artificial dimensions conjured by VR, which so far revolves around video games and 360-degree video clips.
“Augmented reality is going to have a lot more practical applications simply because t are a lot more people out t who interact with things in the real world,” says Greg Kipper, who studied the technology’s potential in his book, “Augmented Reality: An Emerging Technologies Guide to AR.”.
With augmented reality, the three-dimensional holograms seen through a headset are meant to be a helpful or amusing companion to the real world.
While startups like Meta, Magic Leap and Atheer have been making the most visible progress in augmented reality so far, technology heavyweights are also eyeing it.
“Virtual reality is cool, but it’s just a stepping stone to augmented reality,” says Gribetz, 30.
“We are giving people a paintbrush to paint all the world,” Magic Leap CEO Rony Abovitz said during a rare appearance at a technology conference last year.
Kipper believes tantalizing images and promises like the ones coming from Meta and Magic Leap make it more likely that people will be disappointed when they first experience augmented reality.
“Everyone in the race pushing for augmented reality is sort of in a dead heat, taking millimeter steps forward.”