Integrating mixed reality has made art galleries and museums more interactive and accessible

What is mixed reality?

Mixed reality is a technology that blends the physical and digital worlds, allowing virtual and real objects to coexist and interact in real-time. It combines elements of both virtual reality and augmented reality, enabling users to perceive and manipulate digital content as if it were part of their physical environment.

Virtual and augmented realities are paving the way for a more immersive future

Tech companies like Apple, Meta, and Microsoft invest heavily in immersive technologies such as virtual, augmented, and mixed reality. While VR transports users to a fully digital space and AR adds digital elements to the real world, mixed reality allows interaction with both at once.

Mixed reality may help onboard manufacturing workers more efficiently

Mixed reality headsets can facilitate hands-on education by providing immersive guides overlaid onto their field of vision, showing users how to complete complex tasks.

Immersive technologies include virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality

Virtual reality relies on technologies that use screens to generate every pixel, immersing a user in an entirely digital world. In contrast, augmented reality overlays digital content onto views of the real world. Mixed reality combines both to allow real-time interaction with virtual objects.

Mixed reality devices can turn digital information into 3D experiences

Described as "wearing a theme park on your face," devices like Microsoft's HoloLens project images into users' eyes so that their brains believe virtual objects are actually there. The bulkiness and physical limitations of existing headsets are expected to lessen over time, mimicking the evolution of early headphones.

Medical professionals have experimented with using mixed reality headsets

Devices like the Apple Vision Pro have helped doctors develop surgical plans for hip and knee replacements using software that provides 3D models and other tools. Virtual screens displayed by mixed reality devices can provide information related to surgical progress, a patient's vitals, and more.

Simulations incorporating mixed reality have improved trainee certification rates

Such software provides immersive, risk-free environments where students can manipulate digital re-creations to optimize the training experience without producing waste. One meta-analysis showed that MR in welding training boosted passing rates on certification exams by 41.6% versus traditional training methods.

Mixed reality technologies may help treat depression

A study led by a team from Stanford University showed that MR can help people with depression by providing pathways to engage in activities such as digital board games and dancing. Participants saw reduced symptoms of depression that made their overall treatment plans more successful.

Mixed reality devices and other wearables may usurp smartphones

The integration of smartphone features into watches, glasses, and even clothing suggests future technology may be geared toward working independently in the background. Mixed reality technologies are expected to facilitate this ambient computing world by seamlessly and proactively displaying real-time content without physical interactions solely in the real world.

Sets incorporating immersive mixed reality have transformed weather reporting

The technology enables presenters to step into virtual environments that incorporate 3D models and real-time data, providing more engaging and interactive forecasting. They have also facilitated the development of educational segments where meteorologists use virtual models to explain complex weather phenomena.

Pictures of paintings: a virtual art museum

If you can't get to the art museum, maybe try bringing the art museum to you. This independent project presents photographs of select classic, public-domain paintings in an interactive format so you can get the full museum effect from home. Note:...

Meta's Quest and other mixed reality devices can make learning new skills easier

PianoVision utilizes the passthrough visibility of a headset to illuminate which keys to play on a real piano or keyboard, providing an immersive, software-based learning alternative to human instruction. Similar apps also offer virtual model replacements for physical devices, such as a virtual piano, to practice with.

Immersive technologies are increasingly being used in medicine, retail, and education

More accessible devices and user-friendly tools have increased the adoption of these technologies, which provide interactive, 3D environments that facilitate natural human learning. In 2018, Walmart purchased 17,000 VR headsets to train over a million employees in areas such as customer service and Black Friday preparation.

Watch how a mixed reality app transforms a space into a haunted house

"Hauntify" incorporates a user's physical surroundings into the gameplay. Available via the Meta Quest app store, the software utilizes the mixed reality device's cameras and sensors to map a user's environment, from which evil spirits that must be repelled appear to emerge suddenly.

A fictional glimpse into the future of AR

Hyper-Reality is a project that presents a provocative and kaleidoscopic new vision of the future, where physical and virtual realities have merged, and the city is saturated in media. Watch this six-minute video to experience the vision.

Recreating ancient faces: where art meets archaeology

Artistic renderings and reconstructions of ancient people are one way to bring the past to life, providing viewers with insights into and empathy for those who came before. This article details how modern artists and archaeologists work together to...

How Google's Tilt Brush brings artists' creations to life

Google has been working closely with more than 60 artists to help them explore their style in virtual reality as part of the Tilt Brush Artist in Residence program.

The potential of virtual reality in healthcare

Virtual reality (VR) is carving new frontiers in healthcare, from aiding in stroke recovery to training medical professionals. This article in Time Magazine highlights the innovative uses of VR in medical settings, including its potential and current limitations.

A 1992 failed parachute test provided the hardware for the first mixed reality system

The Virtual Fixtures platform was developed to improve human dexterity by merging physical and virtual objects with haptic feedback from an upper-body exoskeleton. Tight budgeting and significant equipment needs nearly canceled the project, were it not for salvaging and repairing cameras and sensors from a smashed experimental parachute rig.

Explore the British Museum's collection across time and continents in this interactive Google Arts and Culture experience.

Limited battery life and increasing discomfort prevent extensive use of mixed reality headsets

Spending 24 hours wearing Apple's Vision Pro highlights some of the challenges facing MR technology, which are compounded by an increasing number of bugs when software is run in nonideal conditions. However, practical and entertainment benefits include placing multiple midair timers when cooking and experiencing immersive multimedia, such as astronomical flythroughs.

The medical uses of VR

Virtual healthcare simulations are bridging the gap between traditional classroom learning and real clinical experience, improving the safety, effectiveness and efficiency of healthcare services.

Explore the Museum of the World

This collaboration between the British Museum and Google presents an interactive timeline showing artifacts from five world regions. Go back in time and learn about each item from the museum.

Mixed reality technology helped make repairs to a quantum physics facility in space

In 2021, astronaut Megan McArthur used a HoloLens to work alongside Earth-based engineers and make hardware replacements to the International Space Station's Cold Atom Lab, the first quantum science facility in Earth orbit. The facility cools atoms to near absolute zero to perform quantum chemistry experiments in a microgravity environment.

The virtual reality era has finally arrived

The smartphone era has driven a large share of the consumer electronics market for almost 20 years now. But what comes next? Dominant computing platforms come and go over time, and there’s reason to believe that mixed reality devices like headsets and glasses might be the form factor that eventually replaces smartphones. This article presents a snapshot of where we are right now in the VR era, and what the future holds.

Digital twins create real-time 3D models of smart cities

These re-creations allow city planners to track changes and manage infrastructure more easily by testing strategies in virtual environments. Geospatial technologies, such as mobile mapping and satellite imaging, help cities assess urban layouts, plan for disasters, and manage resources more efficiently.

'Instagram traps' are changing art museums

In the creator economy era, it feels like anyone has the potential to become an influencer—if they can just capture the right content. Naturally, some places are better suited for an Instagram photo than others. Museums-turned-photo-backdrops (think: the Museum of Ice Cream) are the best of the best.

A brief history of augmented reality (w/photos and videos)

Different sources trace the history of augmented reality back to the beginning of the 20th century,. The term augmented reality however was coined by Thomas P. Caudell in the '80s.

Museums are updating their approach to wall texts amid 8-second-long attention spans

The explanatory text found next to art in museums has long been integral to the exhibit experience, helping provide context for artists, the piece, and cultural movements. Some institutions are removing the texts to allow visitors to interpret the pieces unaided; others are seeking to optimize length or recruit a variety of perspectives—called "labelists"—to offer less authoritative context for the pieces.

Flip through centuries-old artifacts in this 3D library

Archaeology is hands-on work, giving researchers the ability to analyze artifacts from as many sides as possible to find marks left by those that came before us. While looking at pictures of artifacts gives you some insight, you're limited to...

Wish you could experience life on the Western Front of WWI?

Virtual reality offers a new perspective on World War I in this nearly 14-minute video. National WWI Museum and Memorial Public Program Specialist James Taub demonstrates the War Remains VR experience side by side with what he sees through the headset. A grim and detailed simulation of trench warfare combined with Taub's observations and insights.

Experience Maya culture through art—both ancient and modern

This gallery showcases how Maya culture endures through both ancient monuments and modern artistic expressions, tracing visual traditions from pre-Columbian carvings and murals to contemporary works created by Maya artists.

Watch a first-person demo of Microsoft's HoloLens

The headset enables users to interact with projected objects in augmented reality by combining Windows Mixed Reality with eye- and head-tracking sensors, a hand-operated controller, and a microphone that can pick up voice commands.

An immersive curation of the world's rock art

A living archive of humanity’s ancient art and symbols, our shared history that is embedded as rock art and cave art in the landscape

The security and privacy risks of augmented reality

One of the most serious perceived risks of augmented reality is the loss of privacy. Because AR technology can see what users are doing, user privacy is jeopardized. AR collects far more information about who users are and what they are doing than...

Watch the unveiling of Meta's Quest 3S mixed reality headset

Meta's social apps like Facebook and Instagram are the most high-profile part of its business, but the company has sought building out a hardware line of peripherals like the Quest headset, which combines virtual and augmented reality.

Video games are helping to preserve cultural heritage sites, further archaeological study

When Carmen Sandiego swept onto the video game scene in 1985, the deluxe version of the game included historic photographs from National Geographic and music from the Smithsonian. Read this article to learn about the overlap between gaming and ancient architecture.

Is using VR as a tool to enhance empathy ethical?

This research paper explores whether virtual reality should be used as a tool for improving our moral character — and, if not, what ethical alternatives could be.

Why VR/AR gets farther away as it comes into focus

Thirteen years after XR devices became a big tech obsession, VR/AR devices are not just behind schedule, they still seem far away. This article provides an overview of the hardware realities getting in the way of the vision.

Could this pseudo-psychedelic VR experience decrease symptoms of depression?

Researchers report that virtual reality and psychedelics may be leave users with similar insights and therapeutic benefits. Try out this free psychedelic virtual reality experience to see if this holds true for you. According to the program’s creators, a study into the efficacy of this 45-minute experience indicates it may help alleviate symptoms of mild to moderate depression.

Reimagine damaged cultural sites from around the world

NeoMam art studios created animated GIFs restoring six endangered World Heritage sites to their original glory. These include Hatra, a fortified city in Iraq, and Nan Madol, an island site in the northwest Pacific. These landmarks are designated as at risk due to threats like earthquakes and conflict in the regions. Enjoy some of the beautifully restored landmarks with this brief article.

How AR could reshape construction

Wired's Grant Imahara visits Los Angeles, where he witnesses how augmented reality will be a key component of how builders will do their jobs in the future.

Some art critics believe that Liminalism, a form of art exploring the uncanny yet familiar, defines our present moment

While analyzing images of abandoned malls or empty hallways, art historians and critics argue that this style captures the feelings of this moment in time. Liminalism, they propose, expresses prominent themes in our age like anonymity, alienation, and anxiety.

By 2022, Meta was betting strongly on a metaverse strategy for its products

Moving beyond the controversies over fueling misinformation, division, and harm worldwide, Mark Zuckerberg expressed optimism about technology's role in connecting people. Meta's multibillion-dollar investments in integrative AR and VR technologies have further evolved its founder's vision.

A researcher thinks she knows why people keep touching museum exhibits

A museologist who studied unauthorized touch at the British Museum concluded that people may feel it's difficult to learn about things "unless you handle them" and that people are trying to connect with the past, viscerally. Her work has included interviewing British Museum visitors who committed unauthorized touches and spending extensive periods observing people touching prohibited items across 2004 and 2005.

A virtual art gallery in the mode of 'Doom'

One of the earliest video games to use 3D interfaces, 1993's "Doom" was a first-person shooter set on the moons of Mars which ended in hell. It became one of the most critically and commercially successful games of all time. Now, you can wander virtually in an art gallery in the mode of the game, sipping wine and perusing pixelated versions of classic works of art.

Experience the Apollo 11 mission in VR

Take one small step today and experience the historic moon-landing through VR. This video showcases how VR is allowing the public to travel through space through the eyes of those who lived through it.

Smart cities have been more successful when upgrading existing infrastructure

Building urban landscapes with smart technologies from scratch has sometimes produced futuristic-looking yet sterile environments that struggle to attract residents and justify high costs. Enhancing existing areas while retaining their historical and cultural touchstones has proven more appealing in many cities.

Deepfake potential ranges from destabilizing democracies to improving accessibility

The technology can revolutionize education, medicine, and art through actions such as helping a disabled person express themselves. However, fictional audio and video can also jeopardize a person's reputation and life or quickly spread misinformation, even without content being flawless recreations.

Nvidia Omniverse can be used to accelerate 3D workflows and explore creative ideas

This video explores different apps available within Nvidia Omniverse that artists can use to create cinematic, virtual worlds. Some of the tools are AI-powered, like a feature that converts spoken audio into a video of a character speaking.