It can feel quite strange to use a digital medium in everyday life. These concepts have been explored in well-known movies such as Source Code, Blade Runner, Her, etc. Smartphones have also become widely used in everyday life and in the last year there were 2.5 billion smartphone users throughout the world. This number will surely rise to over 2.87 billion smartphone users in 2020. So, AR or augmented reality is becoming more of a real possibility and it will most likely impact how we work.
It is no secret that technology has always changed the way that we live and work every day. For example, think about washing machines, cars, computers, smartphones, etc. New technology has always made our lives better and more efficient. So, augmented reality is the next new technology. We will now discuss 5 ways in which businesses are utilizing augmented reality.
Retail
Retail businesses are placing more emphasis on the digital world and customer experience. Since the line between real world shopping and digital shopping has become blurred, using augmented reality is another way for businesses to reach their customers and another way for them to shop.
Industrial
Next, when augmented reality is used in industrial markets, it would also affect how various jobs are done. Technicians working in the field can easily get the support they need live from remote staff. They can easily show markings, identify problems and even superimpose AR on real world items such as engines, etc. Companies such as Aircada provide real time plant information via AR to make industrial maintenance a very straightforward task. All of this greatly helps to reduce the stress from manual work and it would make a lot of work processes more streamlined.
Design And Creative
There are many creative and design industries that would greatly benefit from the usage of augmented reality. For example, one AR company known as Augment is currently using this technology to assist various companies. The creation of apps that allow businesses to superimpose various models within a physical space would allow them to develop much stronger marketing and sales materials. CAD modelers and artists will also undoubtedly greatly benefit from augmented reality since it will allow them to quickly render images and products within 3D reality. This will improve the presentation and make workflow a lot simpler.
Training
One challenge many companies often face is training their staff across different locations in the same and efficient manner. This is particularly true for large franchises. Also, consider complicated applications such as in healthcare. CAE Healthcare is using Microsoft HoloLens within its own training programs so that doctors can easily practice challenging procedures in the augmented reality 3d environment. This type of technology will easily allow companies to consistently train their employees and ensure that each employee is fully competent for their role.
Customer Experience
Modern people quickly adapt to new technology. In 2018, there were 4.2 billion internet users and in 2020, the demand for internet devices was a staggering 31 billion. Augmented reality will surely be the next stage as various companies find ways to use it. One instance of the use of AR is in Magic Leap’s Cheddar app. Basically, this allows Cheddar headline news networks to show off live video feeds in the 3D realm for viewers. Users can easily place these wherever they wish in the real world. Any business that utilizes AR with its products will certainly gain a lot more engagement from people.
Businesses that want to use augmented reality technology, either with customers or internally with employees, there are two things to consider.
Using augmented reality inside the company: When it comes to using augmented reality within your company, it will take time and would be a learning process. However, it is worth it since you’d be able to work in the real world. The use of augmented reality would allow you to essentially shrink countries or aeroplanes and have them float in a room. It can even help you to take apart products or machines without actually having to do so.
Keep in mind that your employees would want more and simply showing off 3D objects isn’t sufficient. Think about more than just functionality but also about creating a visual flair. A good example of this is how Snapchat scans the faces of individuals and then overlays a variety of special effects on them on smartphones. This has that wow factor that people typically love.
Using augmented reality externally: Clients typically love it when their AR usage is showed off in studies as well as on social media. So, when you’re developing an augmented reality application or using it in your current products, make sure that you think about how it would be attractive to customers and how they can share their experience. Be sure to show off cases of real customers using your AR-based products and their personal experiences.
This is actually a huge game changer and you need to ensure that your customers can easily share their experiences. For example, if your clients can show off parts of their AR experience such as playing with dragons or different hairstyles, this can easily attract more customers.
This type of reaction is essential for AR. Once you are considering doing this for your employees or customers, make sure that you think through each step for the maximum benefit.
There are simply countless ways in which companies can use augmented reality. This technology will certainly change our world a great deal in the next 5 years.
