Over the next decade, one of the hottest trends will be digital reality —a blending of augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), mixed reality, 360°, and immersive technologies. Augmented reality overlays digitally created content into the user's real-world environment while virtual reality creates a fully rendered digital environment (with body and motion tracking capabilities) that replaces a user's real-world environment. Mixed reality blends the user's real-world environment and digitally created content in a way that allows both environments to coexist. The result is an immersive or deeply engaging, multisensory delivery of a digital experience—commonly found in gaming and entertainment.

Across retail, travel, hospitality, leisure, and real estate, companies are using digital reality to bring potential customers closer to their products, service, and experiences. The real estate industry has been transformed by virtual reality—by allowing prospective purchasers to visit a property by attaching a VR headset to your smart phone without attending an open house. This bodes well for properties still under construction. A new condo or office space can begin sales by way of interactive 3-D walk-throughs—and buyers have the ability to personalize the space with their own furniture and touches.

To promote their Outdoor Terex Collection, Adidas created a VR experience allowing users to step into their shoes and take on the granite mountain by following two accomplished climbers through their ascent of the Bavellas mountain range in Corsica. Digital reality will create many more adventures for those of us ready to make the trek.

Questions for Critical Thinking

1. Provide additional examples of how companies, using mixed reality, are integrating their brands into powerful user experiences.

2. Companies like UPS are using digital reality for training purposes to allow new drivers to prove themselves in a virtual environment before getting behind the wheel of a five-ton delivery vehicle. What are some other training-related applications?