Extended reality and Mobile Devices and Applications
Extended reality includes (but is not exhausted by) virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). Virtual reality consists of computer simulations that model some real or imagined entity or entities. Sophisticated computer games are examples of virtual reality. Virtual reality occurs completely in silico; that is, completely computer generated . Augmented reality is a hybrid of virtual reality and material reality, wherein computer simulations are overlaid or projected onto material reality. As the name implies, AR is material reality that is augmented with computer simulations in such a way that this computer-generated reality is combined with it. Along with virtual reality and augmented reality, mobile devices such as smartphones can potentially provide technological frameworks for a host of new opportunities for research and collections. Virtual reality and augmented reality have already been employed in digital heritage initiatives, and are being assessed, critiqued, and revised (Szabo, 2021), and augmented reality has been used to enhance the accessibility and experience of cultural and historical digital archives (Szabo, 2018). However, these technologies are still experimental, and, as a result, some projects will not completely succeed, but scholars advocate leaving space for experimentation (Hedges et al., 2019).