Immersive Technology

Immersive technology refers to a range of digital solutions that simulate or enhance reality to provide users with an engaging, interactive, and multisensory experience. It encompasses Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR), and blends digital content with the physical world in real time.

Immersive technologies use a combination of hardware, such as headsets, sensors, and spatial computing devices, and software platforms to enable real-time interaction between the user and a digitally enhanced environment. VR fully replaces the physical surroundings with a virtual one, while AR overlays digital information on the real world. MR enables dynamic interaction between physical and digital elements.

These technologies are increasingly used across multiple sectors:

• Training and simulation – to create realistic environments for safe, repeatable practice
• Industrial design and engineering – to visualise prototypes or plant layouts before construction
• Remote collaboration and site inspections – using virtual environments for planning and decision-making
• Healthcare, education, and entertainment – to enhance learning and user engagement

Immersive technology supports the digitalisation of complex environments, improves spatial understanding, and accelerates decision-making through intuitive and visual tools.

See also: VR, Virtual Reality, AR, Augmented Reality