The elements that “increase” reality can be added through a mobile device, such as a smartphone, with the use of a PC equipped with a webcam or other sensors, with vision devices (e.g. Projection glasses on the retina), listening (earphones) and manipulation (gloves) which add multimedia information to the reality already normally perceived.

The “additional” information may actually also consist in a decrease in the amount of information normally perceived by the senses, again in order to present a situation that is clearer or more useful or more amusing. Also in this case we speak of Augmented Reality.

In virtual reality, the information added or subtracted electronically is preponderant to the point that people find themselves immersed in a situation in which the natural perceptions of many of the five senses do not even seem to be present and are replaced by others. In augmented reality (AR), however, the person continues to live the common physical reality, but benefits from additional or manipulated information of the same.

Mediation usually takes place in real time. Information about the real world surrounding the user can become interactive and digitally manipulated.