Artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionized human cognitive abilities and facilitated the development of new AI entities capable of interacting with humans in both physical and virtual environments. Despite the existence of virtual reality, mixed reality, and augmented reality for several years, integrating these technical fields remains a formidable challenge due to their disparate application directions. The advent of AI agents, capable of autonomous perception and action, further compounds this issue by exposing the limitations of traditional human-centered research approaches. It is imperative to establish a comprehensive framework that accommodates the dual perceptual centers of humans and AI agents in both physical and virtual worlds. In this paper, we introduce the symmetrical reality framework, which offers a unified representation encompassing various forms of physical-virtual amalgamations. This framework enables researchers to better comprehend how AI agents can collaborate with humans and how distinct technical pathways of physical-virtual integration can be consolidated from a broader perspective. We then delve into the coexistence of humans and AI, demonstrating a prototype system that exemplifies the operation of symmetrical reality systems for specific tasks, such as pouring water. Subsequently, we propose an instance of an AI-driven active assistance service that illustrates the potential applications of symmetrical reality. This paper aims to offer beneficial perspectives and guidance for researchers and practitioners in different fields, thus contributing to the ongoing research about human-AI coexistence in both physical and virtual environments.

翻译：人工智能（AI）已革新人类认知能力，并推动了能够在物理与虚拟环境中与人类互动的新型AI实体的发展。尽管虚拟现实、混合现实和增强现实技术已存在多年，但由于其应用方向各异，整合这些技术领域仍是一项艰巨挑战。具备自主感知与行动能力的AI智能体的出现，进一步暴露了传统以人为中心研究方法的局限性，使这一问题更加复杂化。迫切需要建立一个兼顾人类与AI智能体在物理世界与虚拟世界中双感知中心的综合框架。本文提出对称现实框架，该框架为各种物理-虚拟融合形式提供统一表征，使研究者能够从更广阔的视角理解AI智能体如何与人类协作，以及如何整合物理-虚拟融合的不同技术路径。进而探讨人类与AI的共存问题，展示一个原型系统，阐释对称现实系统如何执行诸如倒水等特定任务。随后提出一个AI驱动的主动辅助服务实例，以说明对称现实的潜在应用。本文旨在为不同领域的研究者和实践者提供有益视角与指导，从而推进物理与虚拟环境中人机共存的相关研究。