How to Boost Your Business with Augmented Reality | Crysberry
#

How to Boost Your Business with Augmented Reality

VR / AR

25 June 2019

To begin, let’s clarify what augmented (AR) reality is. 

AR is the real-time integration of a user’s environment with digital information. The main difference between Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality (VR) is the environment in which they work. VR creates a totally artificial environment, AR uses the existing environment and overlays new information on top.

Read also: 6 Jaw-Dropping Virtual Reality benefits for businesses

AR technology is widely used in the gaming industry. However, this is not the only area where it’s growing rapidly. In fact, AR has already penetrated into all spheres of human activity. The popularity has resulted from the obvious advantages that both customers and business owners discover when using it.

Let’s take a closer look at this topic and find out which business areas benefit from using this breathtaking invention the most.

Augmented Reality in different spheres of human activity

As we can see from Woodside Capital research, there are many industries in which AR technology is very popular:

  • Video Games
  • Live events
  • Retail
  • Healthcare
  • Video Entertainment
  • Military
  • Engineering
  • Real Estate
AR market size in millions of users

According to the eMarketer, the size of the AR market is 68,7 million users, and we expect growth up to 85 million users by the 2021 year. Comparing to the 2017 year the number of users expecting to be grown 2,2 times.

So, let’s take a look at what opportunities AR provides for different business areas.

Augmented Reality In Video Games

Games that use augmented reality technologies are becoming especially popular. They are based on the interaction of users and game characters, which makes games more fun, combining the familiar reality with an unreal world and opportunities. Integration with augmented reality in games will only grow and this will allow us to have a closer connection with the player.

Games for children are also successfully using augmented technology. For example, Meet the Animals animates the book characters and shows short animated scenes. It can help introduce fun in children’s studies.

AR in Live Events

People are got used to the usual live events and, what to say, sometimes they are really boring. AR technology is the opportunity to add a fresh vision. 

For instance, the famous musical festival Coachella presented the AR interactive stage where space objects took place. All attendees had the Coachella app so they could put cameras on the special screens and see “alive” objects. Check out the video of Eminem’s AR performance. 

Besides AR apps are beneficial to use on different conferences as interactive maps, marketing presentations, product demonstrations. It involves attendees more, they will 

AR In Retail

E-commerce is growing steadily thanks to the in-depth research and product comparison. And yet, physical stores still have an important advantage: the ability to let customers see, experience, smell, or try the product in real life. 

For many digital brands, such as the eye-wear retailer Warby Parker, stores have become “exhibition halls.” Augmented reality allows retailers from bricks and mortar stores to take these ideas to a new level. A virtual element can provide a platform that will improve communication, and offer deeper interaction and better personalization. 

As a result, brands that effectively implement AR will be able to provide differentiated interaction with physical products and richer customer experience than that offered by their online competitors.

Today, several far-sighted retailers are at the first, introductory stages of using AR for purchases. On a number of independent platforms, these companies are experimenting and trying to understand their audience. As the field grows in the next few years, several dominant players will emerge and companies will need to figure out how to integrate AR into their strategies. 

Once the environment ripens in four to five years, AR will become a well-used platform for retailers and marketers and companies. In the long term, it is clear that companies should use AR to attract customers through four separate phases: 

  • creating awareness; 
  • increasing attention; 
  • transformation of remuneration for actions on key decision points and purchases; 
  • construction of long-term loyalty. 

As retailers take these important steps in the upcoming years, they must experiment with key tactics and strategies.

AR In Healthcare

The most significant advantage is that AR improves the quality of healthcare treatment. Complicated surgeries are more likely to be accurate with the help of AR visualization when a doctor sees a structure of bones, vessels, skin. The patients will choose hospitals where the treatment probability is higher with modern technologies. 

When it comes to effective treatment and prevention, it is extremely important to train patients. AR applications can help to better illustrate the impact of the disease on the body or, for example, educate families on how to monitor their health.

Painful or unpleasant procedures, such as taking blood, can be made simpler thanks to Augmented Reality technology. For example, take a famous AccuVein, which is a pocket scanner that illuminates veins on a person’s skin, and helps nurses and doctors find veins before injecting.

For Doctors, this technology will be very useful for educational purposes, allowing trainee doctors to better visualize the health problems that they will treat. Secondly, augmented reality will significantly increase their ability to diagnose and treat conditions, allowing them to access data in real time and patient information faster than ever before.

AR In Engineering

Manufacturers began to study the advantages of AR, which can be used in production. This industry is just emerging, but the possibilities are already fascinating.

Comprehensive assembly

Manufacturers want to quickly assemble thousands of components in an exact sequence. And for each new product, a new set of assembly instructions is required. These instructions are often provided as a PDF-file, which are difficult to work with and are quickly becoming obsolete. The projection of the assembly information on the display can be quite new, in a complex assembly, the AR-applications are already verified and tested.

Maintenance

Additionally, augmented reality can be used to support the maintenance of production equipment. For example, Mitsubishi Electric is developing technical support technology, using AR technology. 

It is based on a three-dimensional model that allows users to confirm the order of verification on the AR display, and then enter test results with their own voice. The company expects that this AR system will be used for various maintenance activities, and can also be used for inspection of water treatment plants and building electrical systems.

Expert support

Thanks to telepresence, an expert can look into the eyes of a technician who is actually doing maintenance. This allows experts to offer support and conduct inspections from anywhere in the world. Instead of training every technician or machinist, companies could use AR technology to supplement the existing knowledge of their employees with engineering expertise.

It also creates new opportunities for learning. You can transfer training information directly over the actual parts and assemblies. Thus, it will allow you to combine work and training.

Quality Assurance

Quality assurance (QA) offers many potential applications for extended reality.

Some manufacturers have already begun to explore the possibilities offered with AR for QA. The idea is that employees can photograph parts or assemblies on inspected vehicles, and then compare these images with those provided by the company’s suppliers, using the AR supplement. 

Functions that do not conform to the specification can be highlighted with an overlay, which allows technicians to quickly and intuitively identify the problem.

AR In Real Estate

Augmented reality can display 2D images in a three-dimensional property creation. Users can see the object at different angles. Also, they can see in greater details the assembled floors and learn a detailed layout of apartments.

With the AR application on a smartphone or a tablet, you can select a specific property and view its details. Planning furniture placement will be much more convenient: you can get an idea of ​​where to place your furniture just passing by the house, by pointing your smartphone at it. You can also access additional info such as price, sales status, contact information, even photos, and virtual parts.

One of the best ways to attract potential buyers is through interactive brochures which provide all the necessary information about the sale of real estate via a mobile application.

Benefits:

– Improve user engagement

– Greater publicity

– ‘On-the-go’ experiences

– Increase business intelligence

As you can see, augmented reality has quickly become a part of our lives. Helping both dedicated specialists and app users, it is now part and parcel of our daily routine. In a few years, it will be difficult to find an area where people do not use AR. Investing in an AR project is clearly a safe choice. If you already work in any industry, you can increase your profit by expanding the sphere of operation with the help of AR. If you’re a newcomer in the business, you are free to choose whatever you like.

We are ready to help you implement this exciting technology into your business.

l.sidorenko