Imagine what it might be like to live and work in our world in 2030 and beyond. Perhaps, thanks to advancements in extended reality (XR), an umbrella term used to describe immersive technologies that can merge the physical and virtual worlds, you might be able to shop for a new home anywhere in the world as if you were actually on-site or head to lunch in some faraway land. By 2022, the XR market is expected to reach $209 billion, which is eight times what it is today. This tremendous growth could mean the realities of our 2030 lives are beyond our imagination’s ability to grasp.

XR is an emerging umbrella term for all the immersive technologies. The ones we already have today—augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR) plus those that are still to be created. All immersive technologies extend the reality we experience by either blending the virtual and “real” worlds or by creating a fully immersive experience. Recent research revealed that more than 60% of respondents believed XR will be mainstream in the next five years. To get a better picture of XR, let’s review each of the existing technologies that exist today.

In virtual reality, users are fully immersed in a simulated digital environment. Individuals must put on a VR headset or head-mounted display to get a 360 -degree view of an artificial world that fools their brain into believing they are, e.g., walking on the moon, swimming under the ocean or stepped into whatever new world the VR developers created. The gaming and entertainment industry were early adopters of this technology; however, companies in several industries such as healthcare, construction, engineering, the military, and more are finding VR to be very useful.

In augmented reality, virtual information and objects are overlaid on the real world. This experience enhances the real world with digital details such as images, text, and animation. You can access the experience through AR glasses or via screens, tablets, and smartphones. This means users are not isolated from the real world and can still interact and see what’s going on in front of them. The most well-known examples of AR are the Pokémon GO game that overlays digital creatures onto the real world or Snapchat filters that put digital objects such as hats or glasses onto your head.

In mixed reality, digital and real-world objects co-exist and can interact with one another in real-time. This is the latest immersive technology and is sometimes referred to as hybrid reality. It requires an MR headset and a lot more processing power than VR or AR. Microsoft's HoloLens is a great example that, e.g., allows you to place digital objects into the room you are standing in and give you the ability to spin it around or interact with the digital object in any way possible. Companies are exploring ways they can put mixed reality to work to solve problems, support initiatives, and make their businesses better.

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