Understanding AR, VR, and AI with Apple Vision Pro

With the release of Vision Pro, a mixed-reality headset, Apple introduced a new way to interact with the digital world that will shape the future of wearable technology for years to come.

Understanding Emerging Technologies

Lately, our world has seen rapid advances in cutting-edge technologies like virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and generative artificial intelligence (AI) – it can be challenging to understand the difference between these topics and how they interact.

Apple refers to Vision Pro as a mixed-reality headset because it allows you to experience elements of both virtual and augmented reality. Apple’s Encounter Dinosaurs experience, for example, uses virtual reality to transport you back millions of years. Exit the encounter, and you can check your email in an augmented version of your space with productivity tools floating in front of you.

Today, Vision Pro users can incorporate generative AI tools, like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot, into their workflows. For example, you may ask ChatGPT to summarize a long article while working in Vision Pro. 

Advances in these technologies may provide even more immersive ways to incorporate AI into your immediate environment. Someday soon, for example, you may be able to use tools like Vision Pro to identify a piece of art or preview how a new piece of furniture may look in your living room.

Apple Vision Pro and Our Services

Computing Services tested Apple Vision Pro to validate its functionality with university-wide computing resources. Learn more and see a full list of compatible services.

CMU’s Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer, Stan Waddell (pictured above), is firmly committed to accelerating the use of AI technologies at the university to augment personal productivity. Stay tuned for more updates from Computing Services as we continue to build our artificial intelligence resources.