ar and vr: the future of work and play?
virtual reality and its more outward-looking cousin augmented reality are set to transform both entertainment and employment, but it's still early days.
ar和vr：工作和娱乐的未来？
虚拟现实及其更加外向的堂兄增强现实将改变娱乐和就业，但它仍处于早期阶段。
virtual reality (vr) and augmented reality (ar) are often mentioned in the same breath, but there are significant differences between the two technologies -- although they also share many features.
虚拟现实（vr）和增强现实（ar）经常被同时提及，但两种技术之间存在显着差异 - 尽管它们也共享许多功能。
vr typically immerses the user in a virtual world via a headset that largely isolates you from the real world. ar, on the other hand, inserts virtual objects and information into the real world, augmenting your experience of it via a headset that, ideally, is as discreet as possible.
vr通常通过耳机将用户沉浸在虚拟世界中，这在很大程度上将您与现实世界隔离开来。另一方面，ar将虚拟对象和信息插入现实世界，通过耳机增强您的体验，理想情况下，耳机尽可能谨慎。
although vr opens up potentially unlimited virtual worlds, it's a spatially restricted experience as far as the user is concerned. you won't be straying far from a powerful pc when using a cutting-edge immersive vr system such as the oculus rift or htc's vive pre, for example. and although less immersive ('ambient') smartphone-based systems such as google cardboard and samsung's gear vr are available, you're hardly likely to walk down the street wearing one.
尽管vr打开了潜在无限的虚拟世界，但就用户而言，它是一种空间受限的体验。例如，当使用oculus rift或htc的vive pre等先进的沉浸式vr系统时，您不会偏离功能强大的pc。虽然可以使用基于智能手机的系统，如google cardboard和三星的gear vr，但你几乎不可能穿着它走在街上。
by contrast, ar, almost by definition, requires that user be able to move around relatively freely in the real world. that's why microsoft designed its hololens to be a self-contained, battery-powered 'mixed reality' platform, and why the field-worker-focused daqri smart helmet is similarly autonomous. meanwhile, at the even more mobile end of the scale, google glass -- now discontinued, but reportedly undergoing a revamp called project aura -- has inspired a number of 'smart glasses'-style ar headsets, including the meta 1. 'smart headphones' with a display component, such as opinvent's android-based ora-x, are another truly mobile ar form factor.
相比之下，ar几乎按照定义要求用户能够在现实世界中相对自由地移动。这就是为什么微软将其hololens设计为一个独立的，电池供电的“混合现实”平台，以及为什么以现场工作者为中心的daqri smart helmet同样具有自主性。与此同时，在规模更大的移动终端，谷歌眼镜 - 现已停产，但据报道正在进行名为project aura的改造 - 激发了许多'智能眼镜'式ar耳机，包括meta 1.'smart带有显示组件的耳机，例如opinvent的基于android的ora-x，是另一种真正的移动ar外形。
the simplest way to implement ar is passively via markers, such as qr codes or ptc/vuforia's just-announced vumark system, that trigger the access and presentation of relevant information. where markers are not available, more computationally demanding image recognition (especially with positional tracking of the user) is required.
实现ar的最简单方法是通过标记（例如qr码或ptc / vuforia刚刚宣布的vumark系统）被动地触发相关信息的访问和呈现。在没有标记的情况下，需要更加计算要求的图像识别（尤其是对用户的位置跟踪）。
the canonical use case for virtual reality is gaming (and other forms of entertainment), but professional applications are emerging for both vr and ar in areas like healthcare, architecture, education, product design, manufacturing, retailing, transportation, logistics, exploration and the military. other articles in this special report will explore some of these in detail.
虚拟现实的规范用例是游戏（以及其他形式的娱乐），但在医疗保健，建筑，教育，产品设计，制造，零售，运输，物流，勘探等领域，vr和ar都出现了专业应用。军事。本特别报告中的其他文章将详细探讨其中的一些内容。
the amount of noise currently surrounding vr and ar -- there was plenty of volume at the recent ces mega-show in las vegas, for example -- can obscure the fact that these technologies are still a long way from the mainstream. take this author's experience, for example: i first heard about virtual reality in the late 1980s, when pioneers like jaron lanier were evangelising the term and exploring its possibilities. but i have yet to use vr or ar for anything resembling 'work' to this day, and don't expect to -- outside of writing reviews -- for several years to come.
目前vr和ar周围的噪音量 - 例如，在拉斯维加斯举行的ces大型展会上有大量的音量 - 可能会掩盖这些技术距离主流还有很长一段路的事实。以这位作者的经验为例：我在20世纪80年代后期首次听说过虚拟现实，当时像jaron lanier这样的先驱者正在传播这个术语并探索其可能性。但是到目前为止，我还没有使用vr或ar来做任何类似“工作”的事情，并且在未来几年内不会期望 - 在撰写评论之外 - 。
the pace of development is undoubtedly hotting up though, as the progress of both vr and ar through gartner's hype cycle for emerging technologies in recent years demonstrates:
然而，随着近年来gartner的新兴技术炒作周期的vr和ar的进展表明，发展速度无疑正在升温：
according to gartner, virtual reality and augmented reality have both negotiated the over-hyped 'peak of inflated expectations': vr is about to begin the climb up the 'slope of enlightenment' towards mainstream acceptance and the 'plateau of productivity', while ar is still heading towards the 'trough of disillusionment', which is about to be vacated by vr. both technologies are expected to reach maturity within 5-10 years.
根据gartner的说法，虚拟现实和增强现实都已经谈判过度夸大的“夸大的期望峰值”：vr即将开始攀升到“主流接受度和'生产力高原'的'启蒙斜率'，而ar 仍然朝着“幻灭的低谷”前进，即将被vr腾空。 预计这两种技术将在5到10年内达到成熟。
google trends' analysis of searches for the two terms, meanwhile, shows that vr was dominant until mid-2009, when ar superseded it for a few years, before returning to prominence after 2014:
与此同时，谷歌趋势对两个术语搜索的分析表明，vr在2009年中期之前一直占据主导地位，当时ar已经取代了几年，之后在2014年之后恢复突出：
so, vr is ahead on the adoption curve, with ar hot on its heels. but it's still relatively early days for both technologies -- which, as we shall see, may in time converge.
因此，vr领先于采用曲线，ar紧随其后。但对于这两种技术来说，现在还处于相对早期阶段 - 正如我们将要看到的那样，这些技术可能会及时融合。
technology
virtual reality is all about convincing the brain that a computer-generated 3d environment delivered to your eyes via a headset is 'real' -- a concept known as 'presence' in vr circles. anything that doesn't look 'right' to our visual system may deliver a sub-par experience, or even cause dizziness, disorientation, nausea and headaches. this is less of a problem with ar, because you can still see the real world.
技术
虚拟现实就是让大脑相信通过耳机传送到您眼睛的计算机生成的3d环境是“真实的” - 在vr圈子中称为“存在”的概念。任何对我们的视觉系统看起来“不正确”的东西都可能会产生低于标准的体验，甚至会引起头晕，迷失方向，恶心和头痛。这不是ar的问题，因为你仍然可以看到现实世界。
according to oculus vr's chief scientist michael abrash, the components of presence (and minimum requirements) are: field of view (≥80 degrees); resolution (≥1080p); pixel persistence (≤3ms); refresh rate (60-95hz); global display (all pixels illuminated simultaneously, unless low-latency eye tracking is used); optics (1 or at most 2 lenses per eye); optical calibration; tracking (rock-solid xyz and orientation); and latency (20-25ms, motion-to-last-photon). any implementation in which one of these requirements is seriously lacking will compromise the illusion of reality.
根据oculus vr的首席科学家michael abrash的说法，存在的成分（和最低要求）是：视野（≥80度）;分辨率（≥1080p）;像素持久性（≤3ms）;刷新率（60-95hz）;全局显示（所有像素同时亮起，除非使用低延迟眼动追踪）;光学（每只眼睛1个或最多2个镜片）;光学校准;跟踪（坚如磐石的xyz和方向）;和延迟（20-25ms，运动到最后光子）。任何严重缺乏这些要求之一的实施都会损害现实的幻觉。
last year (q3 2015), industry specialist digi-capital undertook a detailed technical audit of the available vr and ar platforms, measuring 26 benchmarks across 7 'critical success factors' -- mobility, vision, immersion, usability, flexibility, wearability and affordability. best-in-class benchmarks for each technology are summarised below:
去年（2015年第3季度），行业专家digi-capital对可用的vr和ar平台进行了详细的技术审核，测量了7个关键成功因素的26个基准 - 移动性，视觉，沉浸感，可用性，灵活性，耐用性和可承受性。每种技术的最佳基准总结如下：
as digi-capital points out, these are benchmarks from different companies' products, so they're not yet available in any inpidual device -- when they are, that will be ar/vr's defining iphone moment, says the analyst firm.
here are brief descriptions of some of today's leading vr and ar platforms in different categories:
htc vive preimmersive vr
正如digi-capital所指出的那样，这些都是来自不同公司产品的基准，因此它们尚未在任何单个设备中提供 - 当它们出现时，“这将是ar / vr定义的iphone时刻，”该分析公司表示。
以下是一些当前领先的vr和ar平台的简要描述：
htc vive pre
身临其境的vr
the most-cited 'product in 'best-of' listings at the recent ces 2016 was htc's immersive vr system, created in conjunction with game developer valve. the current incarnation, vive pre, is a second-generation developer kit; preorders for the april consumer launch kick off on 29 february.
在最近的2016年国际消费电子展上，被引用次数最多的“最佳”产品是htc的沉浸式vr系统，与游戏开发商valve合作创建。目前的版本，vive pre，是第二代开发人员套件; 4月份消费者推出的预订将于2月29日开始。
the vive pre delivers a state-of-the-art vr experience, with the key added feature is that it's a room-scale (4.5m x 4.5m/15ft x 15ft) system: you're still tethered to a powerful host pc (requirements tba), but htc's chaperone system allows you to overlay enough of the real world on demand -- via a combination of wireless 'lighthouse' base stations and a camera mounted on the sensor-laden headset -- to avoid bumping into the furniture as you negotiate the tracking space.
vive pre提供最先进的vr体验，其中增加的关键功能是它是一个房间规模（4.5mx 4.5m / 15ft x 15ft）系统：您仍然可以连接到功能强大的主机pc（要求tba），但htc的chaperone系统允许您根据需要覆盖足够的现实世界 - 通过无线'lighthouse'基站和安装在载有传感器的耳机上的摄像头的组合 - 以避免碰到家具你协商跟踪空间。
vive pre uses two 1,080-by-1,200 oled displays with a refresh rate of 90hz and a 110-degree field of view, and includes the lighthouse base stations plus a pair of handheld controllers (which are also tracked by the base stations). launch pricing has yet to be announced, but is expected to be around $500-$600.
vive pre使用两个1,080×1,200 oled显示器，刷新率为90hz，视野为110度，包括lighthouse基站和一对手持控制器（也由基站跟踪）。发布定价尚未公布，但预计将在500-600美元左右。
microsoft hololens
the best-known immersive ar system is probably microsoft's hololens, a self-contained 'smart-glasses'-style headset containing a windows 10 computer with battery life currently estimated at between 2.5 and 5.5 hours.
最着名的沉浸式ar系统可能是微软的hololens，这是一款独立的“智能眼镜”式耳机，内置一台windows 10电脑，电池寿命目前估计在2.5到5.5小时之间。
first unveiled in january 2015, hololens uses an array of optics, sensors, cameras and microphones to create virtual 2d or 3d objects ('holograms'), track your eye movements and gestures, and respond to voice commands as you interact with the resulting 'mixed reality' environment -- which also includes impressive spatial sound capabilities. as well as the standard cpu/gpu combo, the hololens computer includes an inertial measurement unit (imu) and a holographic processing unit (hpu) that handles eye-tracking, gesture information and environment mapping.
首次亮相于2015年1月，hololens使用一系列光学器件，传感器，相机和麦克风来创建虚拟的2d或3d物体（“全息图”），跟踪您的眼睛运动和手势，并在与您产生的交互时响应语音命令。混合现实环境 - 其中还包括令人印象深刻的空间声音功能。除标准cpu / gpu组合外，hololens计算机还包括一个惯性测量单元（imu）和一个处理眼动追踪，手势信息和环境映射的全息处理单元（hpu）。
currently, hololens holograms only appear within a 'magic window' that occupies a limited portion of your field of view -- something that wasn't evident in microsoft's early gaming-heavy keynote demos, and is unlikely to change substantially before launch. gamers may be disappointed, but this will be less of a problem for business applications, which are a key target market for hololens.
目前，hololens全息图仅出现在占据视野有限部分的“魔术窗口”中 - 这在微软早期的游戏重点主题演示中并不明...