Emerging Technologies / Extended reality (AR-VR-MR)

Co-located AR refers to the ability for multiple users to interact with the same augmented reality app simultaneously, even if they are in different locations. This feature enhances user experiences by allowing global collaboration and interaction, making it particularly useful for both entertainment and enterprise applications. It integrates seamlessly with features like FaceTime, enabling more immersive and interactive experiences.

The upcoming visionOS update will provide developers with the tools and capabilities to create co-located AR experiences. This means developers can design apps that allow users worldwide to collaborate and interact with the same AR content, enhancing both entertainment and enterprise applications. The update integrates well with existing features like FaceTime, allowing for more natural and immersive interactions.

The event will be held at the Long Beach Convention Center, located at 300 East Ocean Boulevard, Long Beach, CA 90802.

The event attire is casual.

Varjo's XR-4 mixed reality headset is significant because it integrates digital environments with physical cockpits, allowing pilots to interact with real controls while experiencing simulated scenarios. This technology enhances realism and effectiveness in training, potentially transforming pilot education by providing immersive and cost-efficient training scenarios.

The mixed reality technology in Varjo's XR-4 headset enhances pilot training by blending digital environments with the physical cockpit, allowing pilots to interact with real controls while experiencing simulated scenarios. Features like eye-tracking enable instructors to monitor trainees' reactions during high-stress scenarios, improving the effectiveness of training.

Project Aura is significant because it is only the second device to run Google's Android XR operating system, following Samsung's Project Moohan. This marks a key step in expanding the Android XR ecosystem, encouraging developers to create innovative applications and immersive experiences for this emerging platform. The partnership between Google, Xreal, and Qualcomm highlights a strategic effort to compete with other XR platforms like Meta and Apple by offering lightweight, tethered smart glasses optimized for spatial computing.

Project Aura features optical see-through (OST) lenses and is powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon XR chips, which are specifically designed for XR hardware. It supports six degrees of freedom (6DoF) viewing enabled by three cameras, allowing for more immersive spatial experiences compared to devices with only three degrees of freedom (3DoF). The glasses are lightweight and tethered, focusing on portability and connection to other hardware for processing, contrasting with bulkier standalone headsets like Apple's Vision Pro.

Project Aura is a developer-focused smart glasses device created by Xreal in partnership with Google, showcased at Google I/O 2025. It is designed to run Google Play Store apps and Google's Gemini AI assistant in a lightweight, tethered form factor. The device aims to provide a mixed reality experience with a 70-degree field of view and supports six degrees of freedom (6DoF) tracking using three cameras, which is an advancement over some other AR glasses that offer only three degrees of freedom (3DoF). Project Aura serves as a hardware platform to encourage developers to create applications for the Android XR operating system.

Google has partnered with fashion brands to enhance the design and appeal of its smart glasses, aiming to make the devices more stylish and wearable for consumers. These collaborations are intended to improve the aesthetics and comfort of smart glasses, which is a key factor in encouraging wider adoption beyond just technology enthusiasts. While consumer releases of these smart glasses are anticipated in the future, the current focus is on developing the technology and ecosystem with partners like Xreal and Samsung.

Varjo's documentary showcases eight innovative non-consumer use cases of VR and mixed reality, including automotive design by Honda, maritime training by FORCE Technology, medical training by Blueroom Simulations for the Royal Australian Airforce, architectural design by Kohn Pedersen Fox, and advanced XR analytics by Open BCI. These applications emphasize enterprise and military uses where VR and mixed reality improve safety, efficiency, and operational effectiveness.

Varjo's XR-4 series headsets are ultra-high-end tethered PC devices featuring very high central angular VR resolution and advanced passthrough mixed reality capabilities. Launched at the end of 2023, these headsets are designed primarily for enterprise and government users, enabling highly realistic and immersive experiences critical for training, design, and simulation in demanding professional environments.

Android XR is a new operating system developed by Google specifically for extended reality (XR) devices such as headsets and smart glasses. It builds on Google's previous XR projects like Google Glass, Google Cardboard, and Daydream VR, but integrates advanced AI capabilities through the Gemini generative AI chatbot to provide more natural and contextual interactions. Unlike earlier efforts, Android XR is designed as a comprehensive platform supporting a wide ecosystem of developers and hardware partners, including Samsung and Qualcomm, aiming to deliver immersive and versatile XR experiences.

Android XR incorporates Google's Gemini generative AI, which enables the platform to understand user intent and the surrounding environment, facilitating more natural, conversational, and hands-free interactions. This AI integration allows XR devices to provide contextual assistance, making digital environments more immersive and engaging. The AI-powered features help users perform tasks more intuitively within XR applications, distinguishing Android XR from other XR platforms by combining AI with augmented and virtual reality technologies.

AI is transforming daily life by integrating into various aspects such as smart homes, voice assistants, and personalized content suggestions. It improves productivity through virtual assistants and enhances healthcare outcomes with predictive analytics. AI also plays a crucial role in web development by automating tasks and refining user experiences[2][5].

Augmented reality (AR) is significantly enhancing consumer experiences, particularly in retail, by allowing customers to visualize and customize products in 3D. This technology is expected to increase customer satisfaction and sales by providing an immersive shopping experience. By 2024, AR is projected to have 1.73 billion user devices worldwide, with retail accounting for 55% of AR use[4].

Augmented reality (AR) enhances the real world by overlaying digital information, while virtual reality (VR) immerses users in a fully virtual environment. AR allows interaction with both virtual and physical objects, whereas VR restricts interaction to the virtual world only.

Mixed reality (MR) combines elements of both AR and VR, allowing users to interact with both virtual and physical objects in a single environment. Unlike AR, MR enables more complex interactions between real and virtual elements, and unlike VR, it does not require a fully virtual environment.