What is Mixed Reality?

What is Mixed Reality (MR)?

Mixed reality is the merging of the physical and digital worlds in real time. Virtual 3D objects are not only superimposed on the camera image (as in augmented reality), but also understand the space, light and physics of the environment. The result: digital content reacts credibly to furniture, walls or user movements and thus appears tangible.

How does mixed reality work?

Delimitation:

• AR superimposes digital objects on the real world
• VR completely replaces the real world.
• MR combines both and allows virtual elements to react to the real world.

Advantages for furniture & interior brands

Product experience on site

Customers place a sofa in their real living room and check the dimensions and fabric - the barrier to purchase is lowered.

Interactive brand spaces

MR showrooms combine an authentic room atmosphere with digital story elements - ideal for trade fairs.

Cost and time savings

No construction of sample living landscapes; updates are made centrally in the MR app.

Omnichannel synergy

The same 3D asset is used for MR presentation, 3D virtual showroom and web viewer.

Typical fields of application

1. configurator 2.0 - change color, fronts and handles in real time.

2. in-store advice - salesperson shows MR variant directly next to real samples.

3. remote sales - field service shares MR session via Holo-Call; customer sees furniture in their own room.

4. product training - technical components can be virtually disassembled; ideal for assembly training.

Workflow at Danthree

Step 1 -> CAD import & 3D modeling - optimization for real-time performance.

Step 2 -> PBR material setup - Metalness, Roughness and Normal maps.

Step 3 -> Baking & LODs - Lightmaps, Texture Baking and Level-of-Detail for mobile hardware.

Step 4 -> MR integration - Deployment in Unreal, Unity or Dynamic 365 Guides.

Step 5 -> Testing & Analytics - Evaluate user paths, iterate KPIs.

FAQ - Mixed Reality

Is mixed reality possible without a headset?

Yes, newer iPad Pro models & Android devices with LiDAR/ToF support basic MR via camera image.

Which data formats are suitable?

glTF/GLB (real-time) or USDZ (Apple) are efficient. Both transport PBR materials consistently.

How performance-hungry is MR?

A clean mesh topology, instantiated UV mapping and occlusion culling keep the FPS stable.

Do I need special render engines?

Most MR frameworks are based on Unreal or Unity - the same shaders run there as in classic render pipelines.

What does an MR project cost?

The range extends from 5 figures (one product, light occlusion) to 6 figures (complex multi-room showroom). We calculate transparently on request.

Which headsets support mixed reality (as of 2025)?

• Apple Vision Pro - relies on "spatial computing" and merges apps with the environment.
• Microsoft HoloLens 2 - part of the Azure Mixed Reality Services.
• Meta Quest 3 - Consumer headset with color transparency.
• XREAL Air 2 Ultra - lightweight glasses for mobile MR apps.

Do I necessarily need a headset - or can MR also be used on a tablet/phone?

A head-mounted display is ideal for full-fledged hand and room interaction. However, LiDAR iPad Pro models show simple MR overlays - see Apple's overview of augmented reality on iPhone & iPad.

Which cloud services facilitate scaling & collaboration?

• Azure Remote Rendering & Object Anchors stream high-poly CAD in MR.
• VisionOS CloudKit synchronizes MR sessions between Apple devices.
• Autodesk XR Services enable model reviews directly from Revit or Fusion 360.

Which authoring tools do I use for materials & assets?

PBR textures with Adobe Substance 3D & Mixed Reality can be exported as glTF / USD to Unreal or Unity.

Which real-time framework will be state of the art in 2025?

Unreal Engine XR dominates high-fidelity MR (Lumen GI, Path Tracer). Unity remains leaner on mobile, but loses market share in the high-end segment.

XR, AR, MR - what's the difference?

According to Wikipedia "Mixed Reality", XR(Extended Reality) is the collective term for AR (real world + overlay) and MR (real world + digital elements with spatial understanding). Some Autodesk whitepapers use XR synonymously with MR; technically, MR remains the more precise term.

How do I integrate mixed reality into my existing 3D pipeline?

1. Asset optimization - reduced poly counts & LODs.
2. Material conversion - PBR maps in glTF / USDZ.
3. Deployment - Build for Unreal XR or Unity URP.
4. Analytics - Heatmaps & session logs for KPI measurement.

Tip: The rendering runs in a render engine that handles real-time shading and occlusion culling.