This first course in the XR for Everybody specialization creates a foundational understanding of the differences between AR, VR, MR, and XR. The course provides learners with a broad overview of the rapidly evolving XR space and the tools to characterize future XR developments and assess their potential and limitations. It establishes key concepts and dives into the XR device landscape, helping learners to differentiate current and future platforms and devices as well as criticize the use of VR or AR in applications. The course pivots in the second half to look more at how to shape the future of XR, by analyzing trends and raising issues such as COVID-19, social and ethical concerns, accessibility and equity, as well as privacy and security.

The course comes with an honors track in which learners will try out and classify existing XR applications, pick technologies when designing solutions for various XR application scenarios, and dive into the issues contributing to the larger discussion around trends and the future of XR.