VR Research

Usually shortened to XR, extended reality is “an umbrella term referring to virtual (VR), augmented (AR) and mixed reality (MR).” (From "A scoping review of the ethics frameworks describing issues related to the use of extended reality" by Cox S, Kadlubsky A, Svarverud E, Adams J, Baraas RC, Bernabe RDLC. Open Research Europe. (2025))

XR is sometimes also referred to as “immersive technologies”, for the feeling of being “drawn into” a virtual experience, similar to how some people might describe playing a video game or attending an immersive theatre production.

Usually shortened to VR, virtual reality is “a simulated experience that employs 3D near-eye displays and pose tracking to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world.” (From Virtual reality - Wikipedia). 

In other words, VR users typically wear a headset and hold controllers to navigate a virtual experience, much like playing a video game. VR technologies are used in areas such as video game design (Moss by Polyarc), industry training via simulations (Hyperskill), and virtual meetings (Workrooms).

Usually shortened to AR and MR, augmented reality and mixed reality are terms sometimes used interchangeably to refer to a blend of virtual and real-life environments.

As an umbrella term, Augmented reality, or AR, can refer to “any system that has the following characteristics: 1. Combines real and virtual, 2. Is interactive in real time, and 3. Is registered in three dimensions.” (From “A Survey of Augmented Reality” by Ronald T. Azuma. PRESENCE. (1997)). This definition allows for thinking about AR systems in a way that doesn’t automatically assume a user needs a headset to interact with an AR environment.

On the other hand, mixed reality, or MR, can refer to “a broader concept that embraces all the configurations that mix virtual and real elements, including Augmented Reality [where AR] is the part of Mixed Reality where the elements are mostly real, and a lower number of virtual elements are inserted in the world.” (From “Photorealism in Mixed Reality: A Systematic Literature Review” by Lidiane Pereira, Wellingston C. Roberti Junior, Rodrigo L. S. Silva. International Journal of Virtual Reality. (2021)). By this definition, one popular example of AR is the Pokemon Go mobile game, where the “real” elements are the mappings of a player’s real-life environment, and the virtual elements are the Pokemon, Pokeballs, and other elements from the Pokemon fictional universe, displayed through a smartphone.

So, generally speaking, mixed reality (MR) is more of an umbrella term, while augmented reality (AR) is a more specific term. “More recent conceptualisations of MR describe it as sitting between AR and VR, with the distinction that AR is digital information overlaid on the world, whereas MR includes digital information that is aware of and interacts with the real world.” (From “The Ethics of Mixed Reality Games” by David Millard, Heather Packer, James Jordan, Sarah Hewitt, Yoan Malinov, Neil Rogers. Games: Research and Practice. (2024))