VR vs AR? Both.

Introducing: Augmented (hyper)

Reality/Augmented Space
I came across a video on Youtube titled "HYPER-REALITY". After watching it, I was completely
enamoured by the concept and its production. My piqued curiosity led me to the site of the creator, Keiichi
Matsuda. The film visualizes an exciting but potentially risky future of technologies (VR, AR, wearables, and
the internet of things) that will soon control the way we understand our world, as it pieces together the concepts
of interaction and experience and creates a whole new perspective on our knowledge of both physical and
virtual realities. Also known as ‘mixed reality’, Keiichi’s augmented (hyper) reality series is one of the first to
bring into public light. Rather than separating us from the physical world, this somewhat hybrid version of
virtual and augmented reality are seen as one active layered reality and connects us even more to the widespread
use of media, and emerging technologies and wireless presence and interactions in our everyday lives, heavily
depend on the use of technology.

Figure 1: A screenshotted scene in Keiichi Matsuda’s “HYPER-REALITY” design-fiction video project

It is no doubt that VR and AR are more well known, particularly for its widespread developments and use in
leisure and entertainment mostly. Hence, there are considerably more negative experiences surrounding virtual
reality because of its isolating, withdrawing, and "anti-social" facets; take the ​hikikomori ​phenomenon in Japan.
According to Crowe (2016), the VR experience may be too much for us if used everyday since it completely
puts the individual in the "experience", and they're completely detached from the real world. Though it is
nothing different than what the current digital media and devices offer as "escapism", people would incline
toward in spending their time in virtual spaces. (Kim, 2015).

Keiichi's concept introduces a unique way that emphasizes on the digital information we consume and collect
to describe our inhabitation of a familiar space we associate with everyday and conclusively, to reveal the
perturbation of boundaries as “electronomads”, a term coined by Matsuda himself. It ends the deep-seated
debate of these “realities”. Come to think of it, an interface that is the product of both AR and VR, completely
immerses us can be part of the world we inhabit such as the environment around us. Within the framework of
augmented reality, this experience enhances the viewer’s world and actually encourages interactions with the
real world, which stands in distinct contrast to just VR. Consequently, we don’t have to be removed from the
real world, and at the same time, we are put into a completely new perspective of our familiar place. From
mundane things to big events in our lives, hyper-reality could be our future milestone.

Figure 2: A screenshotted scene in Keiichi Matsuda’s “HYPER-REALITY” video in which the device providing the
character augmented space reality, assists her on a grocery-shopping task

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my thanks to Mia Jaro for proofreading.

REFERENCES
​ Video:​ Matsuda, K. (2016, May 19). HYPER-REALITY [YouTube]. Retrieved November 23,
2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJg02ivYzSs

Matsuda, K. (2016). Hyper-Reality. Retrieved November 14, 2019, from http://hyper-reality.co/

Matsuda, K. (2010, April 27). Kmatsuda Domesti City. Retrieved November 14, 2019, from
https://www.scribd.com/document/44532713/Kmatsuda-Domesti-City

​ hat’s the Difference Between AR, VR, and MR? (2017, September 29). Retrieved November 23,
W
2019, from ​https://www.fi.edu/difference-between-ar-vr-and-mr

Crowe, J. (2016, July 13). Augmented Reality is the answer to Virtual Reality’s fatal flaw. Retrieved
November 23, 2019, from
https://virtualrealitypop.com/augmented-reality-is-the-answer-to-virtual-realitys-fatal-flaw-b0f9ee96c95
d
 Kim, M. (2015, February 18). The Good and the Bad of Escaping to Virtual Reality. Retrieved
November 23, 2019, from
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/02/the-good-and-the-bad-of-escaping-to-virtual-reality/
385134/

Figure 1 image source: Matsuda, K. (n.d.). Hyper-Reality. Retrieved November 23, 2019, from
http://hyper-reality.co/

Figure 2 image source: Matsuda, K. (n.d.). Hyper-Reality. Retrieved November 23, 2019, from
http://hyper-reality.co/

AUTHOR and SHARING INFORMATION

I give my permission to have my assignment shared with future MMS 100 students, and please attribute my
work to me.

Faith Anne C. Mariano

2019-09940