Virtual and Augmented Reality
Virtual reality creates a fully digital world, while augmented reality adds digital items to the real world through a screen.
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Play with the controls to see the idea in action.
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Virtual reality creates a fully digital world, while augmented reality adds digital items to the real world through a screen.
- VR uses headsets
- AR is used in phone apps
- Both need fast graphics
🧠 Quick quiz
Three questions. Score 2 or more to complete the topic.
What is Virtual and Augmented Reality?
Within Computer Science, which covers algorithms, programming, data, networks, hardware and safe, responsible use of technology, this topic explains Virtual and Augmented Reality. Computing topics explain how software, hardware and data work, with diagrams and models that show each step in order.
Check that you can explain Virtual and Augmented Reality in your own words and give one example from everyday life. If you can do that, you have understood the core idea.
Understanding Virtual and Augmented Reality helps you design, test and explain programs, websites and systems, from small projects to exam questions.
Virtual and Augmented Reality in detail
Virtual reality (VR) immerses the user in a fully computer-generated 3D environment, usually with a headset with screens and motion tracking, and controllers or gloves to interact. Augmented reality (AR) overlays digital information onto the real world, seen through a phone camera or smart glasses, as in Pokémon Go and furniture preview apps.
Applications include games, training (such as for pilots and surgeons), education (virtual field trips), design, therapy and retail. Challenges include cost, motion sickness, hardware needs and privacy. Mixed reality blends both. These technologies may change how we learn, work and play.
How the interactive helps you understand Virtual and Augmented Reality
Watch the shape transformation in the interactive. Use any sliders or buttons it offers to change the values and see how the shape transformation responds.
Before you change anything, predict the result. Then change one value at a time and check whether your prediction was right. This is a quick way to build a correct mental model of Virtual and Augmented Reality.
Real-life uses and examples
- Recognise Virtual and Augmented Reality in an app or device you use every day.
- Apply Virtual and Augmented Reality when you design a small program, website or spreadsheet.
- Explain Virtual and Augmented Reality to someone new to computing by comparing it to a familiar process.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Using the term without being able to say what the computer actually does.
- Testing only the normal case and forgetting the edge cases.
- Learning the definition without testing it. Use the quiz and the interactive to check that you can apply the idea.
Frequently asked questions about Virtual and Augmented Reality
What is Virtual and Augmented Reality?
Virtual reality creates a fully digital world, while augmented reality adds digital items to the real world through a screen.
What are the most important points about Virtual and Augmented Reality?
The main points are: VR uses headsets; AR is used in phone apps; Both need fast graphics.
Why is Virtual and Augmented Reality useful?
Understanding Virtual and Augmented Reality helps you design, test and explain programs, websites and systems, from small projects to exam questions.
How can I practise Virtual and Augmented Reality?
Open the interactive at the top of this page and change the controls one at a time. Predict the result before each change, then take the three-question quiz. A score of two or more marks the topic as complete on this device.
Which topics are related to Virtual and Augmented Reality?
Related topics in Computer Science include Pixels and Screen Resolution, Mobile Apps and Design, What Is a Computer?.