For years, we have seen technological innovations in film and television, which are becoming of daily use in mobile devices, computers or video games. And it is very common that we do not know the term that identifies them.

Let’s cite an example. Nielsen Media Lab asked a community of tech-savvy adults the following question: “What is augmented reality?”

The answers ranged from “I really don’t know”, “to use a device that mixes the unreal with reality” to “millennials living in a fantasy world”, including some answers like those shown by COVY in the image on the left.

This leads us to recognize that there are themes that, although we have seen in different parts, we are still not clear about what they are and, therefore, what they can be used for.

In this post, we will give some simple definitions of the following terms:

• XR – Extended Reality. Experiences through technology that combine virtual and real-world environments. XR covers both virtual reality and augmented reality.
• AR – Augmented Reality. It is the result of using technology to superimpose – sounds, images, three-dimensional elements, etc… – on the world we live in. We have seen it in Snapchat filters even in Pokemon Go or, as the COVY video shows.

VR – Virtual Reality. It is an artificial environment created by software and presented to the user by a device, in such a way that they believe and accept that they are in a real environment.

We have seen it above all, in gaming.

These definitions are at a very high level and in future publications, we will talk in more depth about these technologies, their use cases, and why we should consider them in the Digital Transformation agenda.