Mixed Reality is Knocking on Virtual Reality’s Door and Making Itself at Home

This article was a combined effort by RUX’s Graduate Researchers

Virtual Reality (VR) developers have begun to introduce Mixed Reality (MR) and Augmented Reality (AR) into their devices. Their goal is to create Extended Reality (XR) headsets capable of producing a VRimmersive experience and enabling users to see the real environment around them as they want to. Companies like Meta, Lenovo, Varjo, and Vive have jumped onto this XR bandwagon with headsets like the Meta Quest Pro, Lenovo ThinkReality, Varjo XR-3, and Vive XR Elite. Rumor has it that even Apple plans to release a VR or MR headset later this year, but what does this mean for VR users? Is this where the future is heading? Do you need to replace your old Oculus or Vive with one of these devices? We’re here to talk about it!

How are these VR headsets different from other headsets?

Until now, VR headsets only allowed users to see virtual content. You put on the headset, and everything around you is virtual — your environment, objects you’re interacting with, and other people. You could put on the headset and be immersed in space, tossing moon rocks back and forth with your Avatar buddy. Some headsets show a very basic view of your actual environment, like the Meta Quest 2, which offers a grainy black-and-white recreation of your real environment when setting up your virtual barrier to help you not knock into real-world objects. It is almost like seeing your real environment on a grainy TV screen from the 1950s.

VR headsets are introducing MR capabilities today by recreating your physical surroundings as a virtual environment with virtual objects. They can do this with video passthrough display technology. These devices use cameras outside the headset to film your physical space and recreate it within its display. These devices differ from other AR/MR headsets like the Microsoft HoloLens and Magic Leap with see-through optic displays.

Usually, users can see virtual objects on the clear glass display and their natural environment. One benefit of see-through optic displays is that the actual environment is transparent and does not have a grainy effect, unlike many video passthrough displays. The technology needs to be more advanced for a clear view of the environment.

Another big difference between these VR and MR headsets and others on the market is the price point. Since companies keep adding new AR or MR technology to these VR headsets, they are much pricier than other VR headsets on the market but are still more affordable than other AR or MR devices.

But are these XR headsets good enough to buy?

Members in our lab experienced the Meta Quest Pro headset in both VR and MR modes. The VR experience was of good quality for a standalone headset that does not require a powerful gaming PC. It was comparable to other, cheaper, VR headsets like the Meta Quest 2, with an added — though possibly unnecessary — feature of Avatar Facial Tracking so you can smile, frown, and yell at your online friends in your conversations. We had high hopes for the MR video passthrough, but it seemed to miss the mark. The color video passthrough is an upgrade to the Meta Quest 2’s black-and-white grainy view, but you can still tell you are looking at a copy of your environment instead of being fully immersed in the world.

The background environment was grainy and blurry to the point that it was difficult to read text or look at a computer screen while wearing the device. However, it is clear enough to tell when your cat is walking by your feet, or it may allow you to pick up a snack on a table while gaming. Video passthrough is not as crisp and clear as see-through optic devices like the Microsoft HoloLens. It was also challenging to find what apps allowed MR to pass through, as developers have not fully stocked the app store with these yet. We were only able to find eight or so apps to try out.

Should you buy these new XR headsets? It depends.

Are you an early adopter of new technology? Are you an XR enthusiast? Do you have an extra thousand dollars lying around in your bank account waiting to be spent? If so, these XR headsets may be a good introduction to AR and MR while also giving you a VR experience.

We think it would be a safe bet to wait until more of these XR headsets are released for the technology and apps to improve before investing in these XR headsets. However, if you are mainly interested in the VR features, you could get the same experience with a much cheaper headset.

That is where the VR market is heading, so you will likely have many more options for XR in the near future.

Embry-Riddle Women’s Lacrosse is listed at No. 16 in NCAA II according to the ILWomen/IWLCA DII poll announced early February. e poll is voted on jointly by coaches throughout the country, as well as members of the media.

Now in their h season of competition, the Eagles were also ranked 16th in the 2023 Nike/USA Lacrosse Division II Women’s Preseason Top 20. e Eagles were ranked as high as 11th nationally in 2022. Embry-Riddle is one of six teams ranked in the IWLCA preseason poll, joining Florida Southern (4), Tampa (7), Rollins (10), Lynn (15) and Saint Leo (25) in the Top 25 listing.

Read more about our Women’s Lacrosse team and their continued successes at erauathletics.com e best backstop in the Sunshine State Conference last year, Embry-Riddle baseball’s Jeremy Kennedy-Davis has garnered National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Preseason All-South Region Team accolades prior to the start of his junior season. Kennedy-Davis was among 11 studentathletes in the South Region in the Honorable Mention listing.

A native of Pompano Beach, Florida, Kennedy-Davis was the Eagles’ best player as a sophomore, earning rst team AllSunshine State Conference, second team ABCA All-Region, and honorable mention NCBWA All-Region accolades. He hit .353 with 55 hits, 12 doubles, and six home runs, pacing the team in all those categories, while driving in 30 runs, and scoring 30 times. Kennedy-Davis slugged .545 and had an on-base of .434 for the Blue and Gold, playing in 43 games, starting 40 times, and had eight multi-RBI games and 17 multihit contests.

Freshman Mikaela Miles headlined Embry-Riddle Women’s Track & Field’s performance as the Eagles opened the 2023 season at the RADD Sports Invitational at the brand-new Alachua County Sports Complex on Jan. 20.

Miles started the day with a bang for the Eagles, setting a program indoor record in the triple jump. All three of her preliminary jumps eclipsed the previous school record of 11.34m, but her rst attempt solidi ed her standing as the program’s best as she recorded a mark of 11.98m to hit the NCAA II provisional standard. at mark also stands as the ninth-best in NCAA II so far this season.

It took only one race for freshman Jake Fritz to cement his name in the Embry-Riddle men’s track and eld record books as he set the program’s indoor 800m record in his rst collegiate competition. e Cape Coral, Florida, native ran a 1:53.40 at the Radd Sports Invitational on Jan. 20, besting the previous record by nearly one second. Fellow Eagle Jacob D’Aleo followed closely behind with the second-fastest time in program history - a 1:54.36.