Direct answer: Augmented reality (AR) adds digital content to a user’s view of the physical world. Virtual reality (VR) replaces that view with a computer-generated environment, while mixed reality (MR) combines physical and digital elements so that digital objects can remain anchored to, and interact with, the real environment.
The mechanism
| Technology | What the user experiences | Key feature |
|---|---|---|
| Augmented reality | The physical world remains visible, with digital images, text or sound layered over it | Digital content enhances physical space but may not understand or respond to it deeply |
| Virtual reality | The user is immersed in a simulated environment, usually through a headset | The physical environment is largely excluded from the experience |
| Mixed reality | Physical and digital elements appear together and can interact | Digital objects are mapped to the physical environment and may respond to its surfaces, movement or boundaries |
The distinction is useful but not absolute. MR is often treated as a more interactive form of AR, and companies may use the terms differently. The important analytical question is how the digital media changes the user’s relationship with space. AR preserves the user’s physical surroundings, VR constructs a separate virtual space, and MR creates a hybrid space in which both are significant.
For example, Pokémon GO is a specific AR system: its mobile application places digital Pokémon into a camera view of real locations. The impact is that players move through physical communities while interacting with digital media. The implication is that design choices can influence movement, attention and access to public space. This illustrates systems, because software, location data, users and physical places interact, and expression, because digital content is represented through a physical-world setting.
Exam technique: For a “distinguish” question, define all three technologies and compare them using the same criterion, such as the role of physical space. Avoid the misconception that VR is simply “better AR”; they create different relationships between people, communities and digital media.
