Mixed Reality and its Future in Design Education

Abstract

Mixed Reality (MR) describes a reality that is augmented with various levels of overlaid digital information (Billinghurst, 2017). An enhanced MR environment might enable us to speed up the filtering of information, thus saving time that could be used to navigate through increasingly complex design projects. Moreover, with MR, people can collaborate in a 3D augmented space without the need to physically be in the same room, another dramatic time saver. Reality can be augmented with the use of a smartphone, tablet computer or a head mounted display (HMD), which is a wearable computer that allows hands free operation. The Microsoft HoloLens is a state of the art, untethered MR HMD device capable of scanning the physical layout of the user’s environment, displaying three-dimensional digital content and recognizing gesture and voice commands.