The first blog post of this three part series was an introduction to Mixed Reality technology.  In this chapter, the technical requirements necessary to facilitate the various types of augmented and virtual experiences will be further examined. 

The computing power needed to create a Mixed Reality experience can be extremely demanding.  For example, in a Virtual Reality (VR) system the user is completely immersed in an artificial environment that isolates them from the real world.  The critical components of this technology are image rendering and motion tracking.  When functionally integrated, these systems allow the user to “feel immersed, or present, and the illusion of VR is compelling enough to transport us to another place”³.  The key goal of VR is to "[convince] the brain that a computer-generated 3D environment delivered to your eyes via a headset is 'real' -- a concept known as 'presence'"⁶.  In order to convince the brain of ‘presence’, there are some minimum requirements, one such requirement is that from the moment a user makes a gesture or movement in the VR environment the total time allowed to detect this motion and make visible to the user through the display is less than 20ms.

Have you ever been on the fence about reading a book and once you starting reading that book you have a hard time putting it down because it is relatable, interesting, or simply something unexpected? I tend to be a harsh critic when it comes to many books and for a book to motivate me and capture my attention is few and far between. Recently however, I have read Anese Cavanaugh’s book, “Contagious Culture”, and thoroughly enjoyed reading her new book.  Although it is geared towards already existing leaders and how to improve their leadership through the IEP (Intentional, Energetic Presence) method it is still a great resource for ambitious young professionals that want to start preparing towards becoming a leader within an organization. During this blog, I want to give you some insight on the author, the main ideas throughout the book so if you decide to attend the event in April 2016 that Anese will be speaking at you can see if her book interests you. All the information about the event location and how to register are listed below with a direct link to the event page.

 Advancements in computing have continued to enhance user effectiveness and efficiency in all aspects of home and work life.  Mixed Reality technology is rapidly becoming one of those major technological progressions.  Mixed Reality (MR) applications are a hybrid implementation of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR).  Although similar, there remains significant differences between the two technologies.