After working hand-in-hand with our clients on numerous projects for more than 27 years, we’ve discovered many creative ways to use technology. We’ve also answered a lot of queries about what those technologies can do and why they’re important to utilize. So, we decided to gather the 15 most commonly asked questions about AR/VR that we’ve gotten over the years.
We hope this will help you to better understand the remarkable impact that virtual reality and augmented reality can have on your business strategy. After reading, if you’d like to know more about implementing AR or VR into your business or want to begin the process, contact us and we’ll help you get started!
What’s the Difference Between AR and VR?
Augmented reality and virtual reality (commonly abbreviated as AR and VR, respectively) are both technologies that enhance or replace a real-life environment with a simulated one. Augmented reality (AR) augments your surroundings by adding digital elements to a live view, often by using the camera of a smartphone. On the other hand, virtual reality (VR) is a completely immersive experience that replaces a real-life environment with a simulated one.
What’s the Difference Between MR and XR?
Mixed reality (MR) combines real and digital objects in a hybrid environment. MR merges the two environments so that users can interact with both real and virtual items using a headset or eyewear. Depending on the goal of the experience, the ratio of what’s real and virtual can differ; while some may use only minimal digital elements, others will be almost completely made up of virtual elements.
Extended reality (XR) is simply an industry descriptor. In other words, it’s a catch-all term for the different reality terms, including MR, AR, and VR. It refers to any and all technology that mixes real and virtual elements.
How Do You Determine if AR or VR is the Right Approach For Your Product or Experience?
Augmented reality and virtual reality can be used to outshine competitors and take a business to the next level. Both technologies bring endless opportunities for creating intensive and vivid experiences for clients in almost any industry. However, determining which one is more suitable for a particular project isn’t always easy.
To deduce whether AR or VR is a better fit for your specific project, you must start by defining your goal and the problem(s) you wish to solve. Moreover, think about your target audience and decide whether they are familiar with advanced devices or not. Overall, the technology you use will depend on your target user persona and what your audience wants and need to accomplish in the experience as well as any limitations they might have.
What Industries Have Invested the Most in AR/VR Technology?
Most people know that augmented reality and virtual reality are commonly used in the gaming industry; however, XR has been integrated into many other industries as well and is changing the way we do business. From healthcare to real estate, retail, transportation, training, finances, recruitment, and education, AR and VR are starting to affect almost every sector of our lives, altering the way we do almost anything.
What types of devices are used for AR and VR?
AR devices include:
- Adapter: HoloKit
- Built-in: Apple ARKit
- Standalone: HoloLens
VR devices include:
- Adapter: Google Cardboard
- Tethered: Oculus Rift
- Standalone: Oculus Quest
What Are Some Examples of Devices/Platforms/Stores that Use AR and VR?
Some examples of AR:
- ARKit - iOS devices - Apple Store
- ARCore - Android devices - Play Store
- Microsoft - HoloLens - Windows Store
Some examples of VR:
- Oculus - Rift/Go/Quest - Oculus Store
- HTC - VIVE/VIVEPro - VIVEPORT
- Microsoft - Windows Mixed Reality - Windows Store
Cross platforms also exist, such as SteamVR, Windows Mixed Reality, and WebXR.
What Factors Should Be Considered When Testing AR/VR Experiences?
The four core components that should be examined are comfort, presence and spatial occupancy, usability, and effectiveness.
Testing is crucial to evaluate how well the user is adapting to, utilizing, and becoming immersed in the VR product.
What Tools Do You Use To Design/Develop VR And AR Experiences?
The design tools that we typically use to develop VR experiences are Tilt Brush, Quill, and Snapdragon Spaces XR. Tools we typically use to develop AR experiences are A-Frame, Unity, and Unreal Engine.
Can AR/VR Help Me Learn Information About My Customer?
Yes! Many of our clients gain new information about their customers’ behaviors, which is very useful for crafting an improved customer experience (UX).
What Is The Difference Between Standalone VR and PC VR?
Standalone VR refers to any VR headset that works completely by itself. In contrast, PC VR is any headset that requires a constant connection to a nearby PC.
What Are Virtual Web Applications? Are They Virtual Reality?
No. People often confuse technology that uses the term “virtual” with VR, but virtual reality always includes the use of a device to immerse users in a different world.
How Do You Define a Key Concept When Using AR/VR?
Since both AR and VR are relatively new technologies, there’s a lot of experimentation that must be done. The best approach is to select an MVP (minimum viable product) that allows us to isolate the key experiences we want to test. These key experiences then become the main components of a prototype.
Example 1: Gallery Tour
The two key concepts could be:
- Moving within the space
- Interaction with the art wall
Example 2: AR app that allows you to collect AR objects.
The two key concepts could be:
- Being able to scan a room
- Selecting 3 elements to find and collect
How Much Does it Cost to Develop An AR/VR Experience?
The cost of an AR or VR experience depends on the size of the project, the objective, the number of resources and their seniority, and the technologies necessary, among other things. However, validating two key concepts for AR or VR experiences would cost around $90-130k.
How Long Does it Take to Develop An AR/VR Experience?
The delivery time will depend on the type of experience, but validating two key concepts for AR or VR experiences requires around 6-8 sprints, which is about 3-4 months.
What Would Be the Next Step if I Were Interested in Starting an AR/VR Project?
The next step would be to have a meeting with our SMEs to:
- Identify your core audiences and assess platform use cases across your current mixed reality portfolio;
- Identify your unique brand elements and how they should be expressed in different modalities;
- Evaluate elements and assets in both 3D and 2D that might need to be redeveloped or redesigned to match and fit the mediums;
- Understand how your technology and interactions exist across your mediums;
- Agree on two key concepts to validate;
- Review a proposal with the scope;
- Kickoff the project!
Further Discussion
From strategizing to development and maintenance, we'll be by your side the entire journey, or wherever and whenever you may need us. We can complement your existing team’s skillset within any of the stages above or, for maximum consistency, we can partner with you from the strategy phase and stay with you through development, launch, and maintenance.
Do you have more questions about AR/VR technology? Do you have an augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR) project you want some assistance with?
We’d love to help!
Contact us to get started.