IndexIntroductionBasicsExtended RealityVirtual RealityAugmented RealityMixed RealityGetting Started with VR360 VideoVR Headsets and Cost ComparisonReal World ApplicationsVR in EducationGoogleVR in HealthcareConclusionIntroductionVirtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), Reality mixed (MR) ) are immersive technologies that improve the quality and level of interaction between humans and computers by expertly mixing the real and virtual world. Virtual reality has moved from a science fiction mode to the gaming industry and now to mainstream daily applications. The purpose of this article is to say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Understand and distinguish between VR, AR, MR, and ER concepts Describe the technology/devices needed to develop and consume the content Compare costs and affordability Applications in retail, automotive, and hospitality with in-depth insight education and healthcare as use cases. The Basics While the terms Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Mixed Reality refer to a unique experience defined by its hardware, new platforms are emerging, capable of combining more than one immersive reality technology. As Clay Bavor, head of AR and VR for Google, said, these are not distinct terms but are labels for different points on a spectrum (Bavor, 2017). Extended Reality Extended Reality (XR) XR is an umbrella term that refers to everything that is real and real. virtual environments and encompasses the entire spectrum from full real-world environments to full virtual environments. Virtual Reality Virtual Reality (VR) technology creates a realistic three-dimensional environment that can be perceived as real and even allows us to interact with it in a very realistic way (Lacoma, 2018 ). Virtual reality uses head-mounted displays (HMDs) to simulate realistic sounds and images and offers an immersive experience by replicating a real environment. The experience could be created using real-world content, computer-generated content, or a mix of both. Virtual reality is best used to convey experiences and applications. Augmented Reality Augmented reality (AR) is an overlay of computer-generated content over the real world in which a live view of a physical environment is complemented by sensory input such as sound, video, or graphics. However, augmented content does not recognize objects in the real world. Mobile devices and tablets with their cameras have become the most common medium for AR. Pokemon Go and Instagram face filters are popular examples of AR. While the technology to overlay information has been in focus, what differentiates it now with technological advances is the amount of information that could be retrieved from the real world (2018, April 2). Mixed Reality Mixed reality (MR) is where real and virtual worlds merge and produce new environments where images placed in a real world can interact and respond to some degree with the physical world. While Google has not included the term Mixed Reality in its spectrum, it is more of a branding term choice that companies like Google and Microsoft are adopting. Microsoft uses "mixed reality" as an umbrella term to cover the entire spectrum of upcoming hardware, from tablet-based AR to VR headsets to Hololens. Mixed reality is a term used by others in AR and VR, not just Microsoft (Stein, 2017) Getting started with virtual reality To get started with virtual reality, the prerequisites are content and headsets. Two main types of VR content are 360-degree videos and 3D animation. 360 degree video 360 degree video comesused when real-life images need to be captured. 360° videos are a cheap but effective way to create VR content. Requires a spherical camera with 360-degree lens and tripod or drone to capture video. 360Heroes, RICOH THETA, Samsung Gear 360 are some of the cameras used to capture 360 ​​degree videos. Special editing software like Videostitch is used to edit and stitch together all the images in high-quality resolution. 3D Animations: There are many tools and platforms available to create 3D environments. Game engines like Unity also require the Google VR SDK, a headset and an Android phone, and can create 3D animations, models and interior designs. YouVisit's ENTiTi Creator platform and experience builder allow users with no programming experience to easily create VR applications (2018). VR Headsets and Cost Comparison Once content is created, the basic element required to play it is a VR headset. VR headsets were developed as early as the 1990s, but did not do well commercially due to the limited technology available to support them at the time. In 2010, a commercially successful prototype headset was developed which later evolved into the Oculus Rift. This is a virtual reality headset with integrated headset that provides a 3D audio effect, rotational and positional tracking designed to be used with custom-configured computers that support it and controllers used primarily in the gaming industry. It was soon followed by other products such as HTC Vive and Sony Playstation VR. Priced under $10, the Google Cardboard is a very affordable and widely available head mount that offers a limited VR experience. Can be used with mobile phones with downloadable content. It's not very immersive when compared to the experience offered by high-end VR equipment, but it fulfills its goal of encouraging interest and development in VR applications. Google also offers other VR platforms such as Daydream which uses Google and specific Android smartphones which support it. Daydream allows players to use virtual reality apps, including YouTube, Google Maps Street View, Google Play Movies & TV, and Google Photos in immersive viewing (Mogg, 2015). Sets of Daydream headphones are priced around $100. Samsung Gear VR and Microsoft HoloLens are other products that use the smartphone as the screen and processor that cost hundreds of dollars, cheaper when compared to high-end models. There are a growing number of apps available for download on the Android and iOS app stores ranging from 3600 photography to games to documentaries. Discovery has a variety of content that allows the user to experience travel adventures using a mobile phone app and any HMD such as Google Cardboard or Oculus. While Google Glass, a non-gaming AR headset released in 2013, wasn't as successful as expected, it has been used in a variety of industries, including healthcare, media, construction and design. Wired headsets for the enterprise category are led by VR A-listers, such as Oculus Rift and HTC Vive and Sony Playstation. These devices support lateral movement and offer exceptionally high quality images. However, it is connected to a powerful PC via a four-meter cable and requires a custom setup of a powerful graphics card and enough hard drive space to run applications and games ("The Pros and Cons of Mobile and Tethered VR", 2018) . To provide a more immersive experience, these are also paired with hand controllers and base stations which, if assembled, would bring the cost into the thousands of dollars. With the evolution of the VR and AR platform, iPrices of even the most advanced equipment drop dramatically every year, making them more accessible to a broader user base. Real-World Applications VR, AR, and MR applications are evolving across industries and business sectors. Some real-life examples are: Ford uses virtual reality to test elements of new cars saving approximately $8 million per year. Audi uses virtual reality to allow customers to configure and personalize vehicles. BMW uses virtual reality to build prototypesAirbus uses virtual reality to show planes to customersThe Weather Channel used mixed reality to great effect with its coverage of Hurricane Florence, showing how water could rise and engulf buildings and cars on the its path.Sotheby's International Realty uses Virtual Reality to host open houses to sell luxury homesThe North Face takes users to virtual YosemiteNational ParkMarriot has designed a temperature-controlled virtual phone booth that allows its clients to visit its properties in Hawaii and London Ikea Place app that lets users test out potential furniture in their homes before buying Gap's AR Dressing Room app that lets customers try on clothes Live Nation lets customers stream concerts through VR headsets, enabling more people to be present at live events. American football quarterbacks use virtual reality to train themselves to read defensive plays before the game and react to blitzes. While VR is finding its place across a diverse set of applications, this paper takes a detailed look at education and healthcare as two use cases and how VR is transforming these spaces. Virtual Reality in Education Researchers at the University of Maryland conducted one of the first in-depth analyzes of the educational use of virtual reality and found that people remember information better if it is presented to them in a virtual environment ("People Recall Information Better Through Virtual Reality, Says New UMD Study,” 2018) Virtual reality offers new ways for students to interact, gain hands-on experience, and enhance learning that transforms education. Virtual reality allows students to experience places, objects and situations that would otherwise have been impossible to access. Education is made more interactive, engaging and engaging, especially in learning about planets, animals, human anatomy, engineering, architecture, etc. Virtual reality features provide the opportunity for greater student engagement, augmenting the learning experience with immersive scenarios that students would otherwise be unlikely to experience. GoogleExpeditions is a commonly used immersive educational app that allows teachers and students to explore the world through over 800 virtual reality (VR) tours and 100 augmented reality (AR) tours. It allows students to swim with sharks, visit space, turn the classroom into a museum and more without leaving the classroom. This way of learning can spark new interest in subjects, provide a shared experience for better class discussion, and improve overall engagement (Ferriter, 2016). The use of virtual reality is not limited to use in classrooms. It is evolving to play a key role in higher and continuing education. Online education allows both teachers and students to expand their reach. Despite this, there are still limitations in providing the interaction and engagement with professors and other students that traditional learning offersin class. Virtual reality promises to fill the gaps and bring the best aspects of traditional and online learning into a single platform. With digital representations of themselves, professors and students can be in the same room, improving student engagement and networking. To provide distance education students with a more immersive experience, Penn State engineering students developed an immersive virtual reality (IVR) system using the Oculus Rift, a haptic glove, and interactive 3D simulations. The haptic glove prototype was developed by students and allows users to manipulate and interact with virtual objects. It was found that students could complete a task in the IVR environment in less than half the time compared to the non-immersive online environment (Meyer, 2015). Online VR courses are not limited to subjects such as engineering and medical fields, but are also being explored by business schools. MIT's Sloan School of Management using AvayaLive Engage technology went virtual with students creating customizable avatars and televising themselves in class, during Hurricane Sandy in 2012, when they couldn't make it to campus. Stanford University's Graduate School of Business created its own virtual campus for LEAD program students to immerse themselves in a 360-degree learning environment also from AvayaLive Engage (EDTECH,2018)Medical schools use virtual reality in medical education with the goal of transforming healthcare education by providing clinical training exercises and surgical skills training in realistic simulated environments. The Body VR is one of many medical education applications that gives students the experience of traveling through the bloodstream and discovering how blood cells work to spread oxygen throughout the body (BodyVR, n. d) The surgeon oncologist Shafi Ahmed performed an operation at the Royal London Hospital using a VR camera linked to the Medical Realities website which gave real-time access to all interested parties who wished to participate in the operation. Such medical virtual reality applications allow students to view procedures and gain hands-on experience during lectures. With a growing number of use cases in education, there is renewed interest and adoption of VR technologies in education. The results of using virtual reality in education are promising. Current barriers to wider adoption are the professional skills to create and support content, the affordability to create the content, and the affordability of the tools needed to use it, such as headphones, and the computing power to run the tasks. applications. With the advancement of technology, the costs of implementing and applying virtual reality in education are becoming more affordable and, in turn, will help the implementation of VR applications and services in the coming years. Virtual Reality in Healthcare Virtual reality is progressing to change the face of healthcare as we know it. There are pioneering virtual solutions that make significant improvements to the lives of people with autism, chronic pain and other medical conditions. Startups like Floreo are using virtual reality to provide therapy to autistic children by using mobile devices to engage them with virtual characters in a scene. Parents can customize the environment and sensory complexity, and these apps appear to have a calming effect on children. According to a study conducted on the effects of virtual reality on the pain management of hospitalized patients, it is.