The world of augmented and virtual reality

Virtual reality (VR) and its close cousin “augmented reality” (AR) are rapidly emerging technologies—and they’re more prevalent than you might realize.

The world of augmented and virtual reality

From entertainment and gaming to science and medicine, AR and VR are increasingly integrated into our everyday lives.

What exactly are augmented reality and virtual reality, and how do they differ? Augmented reality enhances experience by overlaying digital images, graphics, or sensations onto the real world.

In fall 2017, as interest in these technologies was increasing, BU undergrads Chandler Zhang (ENG’18) and Alicia Hong (COM’18) decided to launch an AR/VR club.

Hong says she was more involved on the VR side and Zhang on the AR side. They’d run into each other at AR/VR events around Boston, and when Zhang suggested cofounding a club at BU, Hong jumped at the opportunity.

“We decided that our mission would be to foster an enthusiastic community,” Zhang says, “and also make sure that Boston University is a recognized name in the greater Boston area AR/VR community.”

“One of the biggest difficulties with AR/VR at BU is there are no classes that teach how to create things in AR/VR,” Yellen says, “so we try to fill the gap.”

Yellen has big plans he hopes to expand meetings to at least two a week one focused on learning how to create things and the other on what you can do with the technology.

“We’d like to make it so that it’s just a technology that anyone can be interested in and anyone can be involved in,” he says.

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