Reality–virtuality continuum

The reality-virtuality continuum is a theoretical framework that describes the continuous scale between the completely virtual, a virtuality, and the completely real, reality. The reality-virtuality continuum therefore encompasses all possible variations and compositions of real and virtual objects. It has been described as a concept in new media and computer science. The concept was first introduced in 1994 by Paul Milgram, a professor at the University of Toronto that pioneered wearable computing research. Since the inception of the continuum, scholars have argued the continuum should be updated to match the current state of wearable computing systems. The area between the two extremes, where both the real and the virtual are mixed, is called mixed reality. This in turn is said to consist of both augmented reality, where the virtual augments the real, and augmented virtuality, where the real augments the virtual. This continuum has been extended into a two-dimensional plane of virtuality and mediality.