2. Introduction
• The rapid development in technology in recent
years has brought people closer to what digital
devices can offer in our imagination: turning
everything into digital their digital versions,
including reality.
• Thanks to that, now there are two technological
inventions that can make that happens.
• Those inventions are called Virtual Reality, which
is often abbreviated as VR, and Augmented
Reality, which is often abbreviated as AR.
3. What is Virtual and Augmented
reality?
• Since ancient times, people usually give name to their
inventions based on what those inventions do or represent.
• It is the same with virtual reality and augmented reality.
• As their names suggest, they both have something to do
with creating a new reality.
• However, the differences in their names, which are the
noun adjectives in their names that both explain the same
noun: reality, indicate that although both inventions have
something to do with creating a new reality, they surely
have different methods in the processes.
4. Contd…
• To put it simple, virtual reality is a technology
where a VR device creates a new reality from
scratch and brings the device user to the reality
while almost cutting him/her from the real world.
• On the other hand, augmented reality is a
technology where an AR device, which can be in
the form of our regular smartphones, creates a
new reality from materials taken from the real
world, which are usually taken using a phone
camera.
5. Contd..
• However, AR is not like VR, which almost cuts
the user from the real world due to the use of
a pair of headsets and the VR device itself that
completely blocks the user’s vision, because
AR does not require the user to put a pair of
headsets and the device, which is usually a
smartphone or tablet, does not completely
blocks the user’s vision at all.
6. Why VR is better than AR?
• Based on the explanation above, it can be said that
virtual reality creates a completely different reality for
the user while augmented reality only does half of the
job or even less. So, it is safe to assume that VR is much
better than AR in terms of creating a new reality and
bringing the user to it.
• However, if the user does not want to really separate
him/herself from the real world due to certain reasons,
then AR is the more suitable option for him/her. So, the
decision to use VR or AR depends on the interests and
needs of the user, but still, in terms of technology, VR is
absolutely better than AR.
8. What is the future of AR and VR?
• If we talk about the potentials of augmented reality and
virtual reality in the future, it can be said that both
technologies have promising futures.
• Slowly but surely, both technologies have become more
and more common in our daily life, especially AR because
AR uses devices like our regular smartphones. It is just like
how smartphones were first introduced to the public.
• Smartphones were quite expensive, sophisticated, and
considered to be far superior compared to feature phones
back then. However, now smartphones have become quite
common in our society and can be bought starting from a
very affordable price.
9. What are some applications of AR
and VR?
• Every time a new technology appears, it has to have its application in real
life. In fact, most of new technologies appear due to problems that
demand solutions from the new technologies. Both augmented reality and
virtual reality appear due to the demands of making a digital reality for
many purposes. So, it should not be too hard to find the applications of AR
and VR in real life.
• Even, many people may not notice that the features in their smartphones
that they use every day are categorized as AR. One of the applications of
AR that we can find in our daily life is photo or video filter. By using photo
or video filters, we have altered or augmented the reality that has been
take by our smartphone camera, so that the result of the filtered photo or
video deserves to be called an AR. Such filters are now quite common in
our society because anyone who accesses media social can use the filters.
• Of course, that is not the only application of AR and VR. There are many
other significant applications of AR and VR besides photo or video filters.
Those applications include the applications in video games, medical
exams, engineering, such as simulation of a building construction, project
explanation, and so on.
10. Virtual reality and augmented reality
in education
• Many people may still think that both augmented reality
and virtual reality are only for gaming needs due to the
many uses of the technologies in that field. However, in
fact, AR and VR have been widely used in education.
• There are several examples of the uses of the technologies
in education, such as the use of AR technology in a
microbiology class to see and explain the physical forms of
cells and other parts of organisms.
• This is quite helpful because if we just use a microscope to
observe cells, then we can only see the cells that are being
observed and we have to go through the trouble of taking
the cells and setting the microscope every time we want to
observe them.
11. Contd..
• Meanwhile, if we use AR technology in the microbiology class, we
can see the cells that are being explained in more details in 3D. Not
only that, we can also see many kinds of cells from various
organisms and we do not have to go through the trouble of
preparing the cells and microscope for that.
• As for virtual reality, it can even give a better vision to students than
what augmented reality can give regarding the materials being
studied. However, it seems that only high-budget schools or
colleges that have applied VR in education due to the relatively
expensive price of a VR device.
• That is only one example of VR and AR in education, so that there
are many other examples out there, such as the use in explaining
our solar system in an astronomy class, the use in explaining atoms
in chemistry class, and so on.
12. What is Google’s AR and VR?
• As one of the leading companies in technology, Google
has launched its new product called Google’s AR and
VR. As explained above, augmented reality and virtual
reality create new reality to help and ease our life with
their implementation. So, Google uses the new
technologies to help bridge digital world and physical
world.
• Google AR and VR utilizes the camera of the user’s
smartphone and provide the user with information
he/she needs, such as the name of the street,
navigation, simulation, and so on. So, by using Google’s
AR and VR, its user will be able to obtain information
that can be very helpful for him/her.
