ColdFusion - What are Virtual and Augmented Realities?

Episode Date: April 19, 2026

A explanation of virtual and augmented reality. Includes a brief history and description of the differences. Music at 2:20 Twisted Perspective - Moonlit River https://soundcloud.com/twistedperspective/tracks https://aditya.bandcamp.com/ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You are watching Cold Fusion TV. Hi, welcome to another Cold Fusion video. This video is part of an ongoing series in collaboration with Upload VR. The series will cover the emerging technology of the VR and AI industry and what it means for the world we live in. Virtual reality and augmented reality. They seem to be hot buzzwords which have all heard before. But what are they exactly and what's the difference between them?

In this video, we'll take a look. Let's start with VR. In simple terms, VR is a computer-generated simulation or replacement of one's environment. For example, you put on a headset, it blocks out your worldview and substitutes a digital world that's designed to fool your senses. From the point of view of your brain, you're somewhere else. It's a form of mental teleportation, if you will. So where did VR come from? There's going to be a full video on the history of VR, but the best of VR

The BASIC GIST is as follows. The origins of VR as a technology system can be traced back to 1962 when filmmaker Mort Heerlig created the censorama. It was an arcade-style cabinet with a 3D display, vibrating seat, stereo sound, fan and scent producer. One of the experiences was riding a motorcycle down the streets of Brooklyn. The viewer would have a 3D view of the streets while having the wind blow in their face, simultaneously feeling the vibration of the motorcycle seat and even experiencing the

smells of the city. Although it was absolutely revolutionary for the time, the idea largely didn't gain traction. Most people point to MIT computer scientist Ivan Sutherland as being the godfather of VR displays. In 1968, he created the Sword of Democles, the first VR headset. He and his colleagues at MIT started the first virtual headset experiments, as a side Sutherland was a low-key genius. He also invented Sketchpad in 1963, an advanced software for computer aid design and a breakthrough in human-computer interaction. But more on this in the full

history video. It wouldn't be until 1987 when the actual term virtual reality was coined. The term was the brainchild of Jaron Lanier, an American computer philosopher and computer scientist. Let's break down the actual meaning of virtual reality. Virtual means, being something in effect, though not in actuality, or in fact. This is from mid-15th century English. So in other words, ideally, VR is an approximation of our reality, that is digital, but not reality itself. Since its inception in the late 60s, VR hardware has existed largely in university research labs in hilariously big and bulky forms, never to test the waters of mainstream consumer product,

but more for an understanding of the limits of our brain's perception systems, It was also a helpful tool for PTSD and cognitive behaviour therapy patients. Over the years, various companies such as Nintendo and NEC have tried bringing VR to the consumer market, but these efforts were major failures. The reasons for the industry's previous failures will be looked at in future videos, but broadly speaking, the technology just wasn't there, and the threshold for building a convincing headset was too high. Until now.

Currently, VR is quickly becoming extremely relevant to gamers, 3D artists, architects and real estate agents, teachers and students and even astronauts. After Crying Wolf a number of times, VR is finally showing some promise this time around. Okay, let's move on to augmented reality. Augmented reality, also known as mixed reality, is a different beast from VR. This is because its main purpose isn't to cut out the real world and transform. transport you to another one, but rather it's to be an enhancement of your real world with a set of magical virtual objects in it. When a person's real environment is supplemented or augmented with computer generated images, usually motion tracked, then that's augmented reality. So if you play Pokemon Go when that was a thing, or have used Snapchat lens face filters, then you've already used primitive forms of augmented reality.

Here's another day-to-day but fairly a muting example of augmented reality from a third point. person point of view. The roads have been cleared. We're ready to get back out on the roads. Let's bring this car out, actually, into augmented reality and show you what I'm talking about. Because you hit the roads, the roads are clear. Visibility looks great, right? You think there's no problem, but then you get behind this guy. You know the one that doesn't clear the snow and the ice off. The term augmented reality is attributed to a former Boeing researcher, Thomas Cordell, in 1990. Augment is from the Latin word or GERRA, which means to increase or to add. Hence, AR technology is adding to our existing reality.

Currently, augmented reality is also showing promise with efforts like Microsoft's HoloLens and the very secretive Magic Elite Project. So let's take a quick summary of both technologies. Virtual reality tends to be completely immersive with no real-world stimuli affecting the experience. The goal of VR is to make the user feel as if they are, in fact, in another place. In stark contrast to this, augmented reality acts as a digital addition to the user's world. For example, objects can appear on tables, information can be displayed in floating windows, and graphics can be generated all seamlessly motion tracked to the user's field of view.

The thing that makes AI and VR different from any other forms of technology is that it directly affects the perceptions and processes of the human mind in an online. obvious way, it's the only technology that can provide actual packaged experiences. While there are a large number of people that do think both AR and VR are a fad that will fade out like previous hype cycles of the technologies in the 80s and 90s, the thing to note here is that the underlying technology is vastly more powerful this time round and is very much feasible. Think of it as a time that's parallel to smartphones just before the iPhone.

We just need the right blend of killer, AR and VR applications, primation. product, price and consumer demand to really begin the altered reality spark. At current rates, by 2025, attractive AR and VR experiences will be commonplace. If done right, these technologies show incredible potential. Thanks for watching guys, this was just an introductory video and there will be more videos coming in the series with upload VR. Rest assured, plenty of interesting topics will be covered. So this has been to Go-Go-Go, you've been watching Cold Fusion.

Don't forget to subscribe if you've just stumbled across this channel. I'll catch you again soon for the next video. Cheers guys, have a good one.