Exploring Immersive Technology at APL: Guest Editor’s Introduction

Abstract

Immersive technologies, including virtual and augmented reality, have been in use in a variety of application areas, such as gaming, teaming, training, health care, and engineering, for quite some time. In fact, the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) has been exploring these technologies for more than two decades. Today these technologies have coalesced into a vast and growing domain, often referred to as XR, with innovative applications and use cases in nearly every sector, from gaming and entertainment to real estate, retail, architecture, and education, to name just a few. This recent explosion in the XR ecosystem, including the introduction of more capable commercial products and improved software development tools, prompted APL staff members to explore new research and development efforts leveraging XR. This issue highlights several of these efforts.