Signal Fall 2021 Newsletter

4 www.alliancecom.net Learn, play, and create with these emerging technologies But both VR and AR have uses well beyond gaming. Want to “try on” clothing without going to a store? AR applications can make it happen. Want your kids to learn about history as if they were really there? VR programs create this type of interaction. Want your next surgery to be noninvasive? AR systems support physicians in this ability. In the next few pages, you’ll learn more about these and other VR and AR uses. For example, it might not be long before you can“try before you buy” for your next vacation, purchase your dream home without ever stepping foot in it, or “attend” your favorite sporting events from afar. We also cover how to purchase a VR system of your own. Get ready to see the (virtual) world in a whole new way! Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) have been on the scene for some time. But 2021 may just be the breakthrough year when they become mainstream. VR is familiar from movies like Ready Player One in which people enter and interact in entirely built worlds. AR is a blend of realities, as with the game Pokémon Go, in which virtual elements are superimposed on objects in the real world. QUICK TIP: Google Earth (google.com/earth ) lets you ex- perience the world through VR. EXPLORE VIRTUAL AND AUGMENTED REALITY