The introduction and integration of augmented reality have truly enhanced human experiences. It has now blended in with humans and their lifestyle and now there is no turning back. The impact it has made and is yet to make is something hopeful and to look forward to. Without much delay, we will reach those days too where AR will become an essential part of our lives. Even now, there are countless examples of augmented reality working in our surroundings, making life easier. In this article, we will be looking at some of the best examples of augmented reality that are making significant changes in various industries.
Senditur- Travel Application
As you might already know, augmented reality and virtual reality have made significant changes to the concept of travel. Now, those who do not wish to leave the comfort of their homes can seek the help of these technologies to be their tourist guides and walk through places. Senditur is an AR travel app that lets you travel to many places around the world without leaving your comfort place. The app provides you with a 3D experience of so many landmark places in the world and popular tourist destinations. It also guides you in the experience, explaining to you the places, their history, and their importance. You can also take virtual tours of museums and major tourist attractions with the help of this application. You can also use this application for real-time travel as well. It recommends nearby places for outdoor activities and hiking. Its offline feature is also great to use while covering areas with low network coverage.
Another similar application is Horizon Explorer. There also exist many travel apps that can enhance your traveling experience. Guideo is an augmented reality travel app that provides you with an interactive guide to the surroundings. You can get information about the area you are in and get recommendations that are less known to tourists, giving you a little more adventure and excitement.
RealAR- Real Estate Application
Augmented reality and related technologies have made it easier for those in the real estate industry as well. Now, people will not have to wait long until they can see what their dream homes and buildings would look like. The RealAR app helps you to transform floor plans on the sketch and 3D models to life-size walkthroughs, by blowing it up. You can have a look at projects before it is done and make changes to them, saving you time and money. This comes as a big blessing to realtors who work with projects that are in the making, as they would be able to walk potential buyers through the buildings, making it more convenient for both parties. This technology made it easier for buyers, sellers, and realtors especially during the time of COVID-19, as traveling to places to view buildings was not possible.
Another real estate application is Vera, whose intelligent technology can reconstruct buildings with its highly developed 3D visualization technique. Yet another app that helps in the field of construction is MagicPlan, which is an application that can transform images into floor plans. You just have to use a tablet or smartphone to capture the image of a house or ceiling and the app will convert it into floor plans.
IKEA Place- Home Decor
From the experienced furniture manufacturer and sellers IKEA, comes an augmented reality app that helps you to pick furniture as well as to see how it looks in your place. The digital version of the furniture or accessory will be provided in the app, which you could place in your room and see how it goes with the room and whether it will fit the space. You can also see if the colors match your interiors and make choices wisely. The application also allows you to have a look at it from different angles as well. Every product sold by IKEA would be included in the application, so you can check how things go in your place before setting out to buy without planning.
A similar application is Houzz, which is popular among home professionals. It is an all-in-one app that helps you find ideas, materials, and experts. This application uses augmented reality to provide you with 3D visualization of several decorative items in your rooms and living space. Another application is Dulux Visualizer, which helps you to choose the right color for your home. You just have to hold your smartphone with the application opened against any wall and switch between colors to find the right one. The technology in play does not paint over any items or wall decorations that are already there, giving a realistic view.
Pokémon Go- Game
Pokémon Go was a big hit among people of all age groups when it first came in 2016. It is one of the best examples of augmented reality. The game involved placing characters in the real world through AR technology and made people get to them from different places. The game used location-based AR and promoted physical activity, as to find the characters players had to move around to different places given on the map inside the game. It was also reported that the game boosted local businesses as more people were involved in walking around the neighborhood.
AR technology in gaming did not start with Pokémon Go, there was even another game that used augmented reality, developed by the same company that created Pokémon Go. One such popular game is Zombies, Run!, which was also a game that required the players to be physically active. The game had players literally running for their lives from zombies, grabbing essential items, and helping others on their way. The game became way too popular since it not only provided entertainment but also engaged them in physical activity and kept their fitness in check. The game rewarded the players the more they ran, tempting them to go the extra mile. Other games like Ingress, Harry Potter: Wizard Unite, Spirit Camera, etc. are also popular AR games.
Sephora- Shopping App
Sephora, the beauty brand has integrated augmented reality into their mobile app, which helps customers from different places to try on makeup products virtually without being physically present. The application contains a Virtual Artist that uses facial recognition technology and then allows customers to try on products digitally. This comes as a great option as sometimes physical stores will not allow you to try on every product. Once the customers try them and like them, they can immediately purchase them through the app. The app also provides makeup tutorials to the customers as well.
Similar technology is employed in Amazon in collaboration with L’Oreal. Combining AR technology, the development of the technology mainly aims at beauty shoppers. Customers buying beauty products like lipsticks, can take a photo of them and upload them while shopping and try on different shades on themselves with the help of augmented reality. The app also provides models with different skin tones out of which you can pick the one that looks similar to you and try on them instead. Nike has also introduced AR into their app, called Nike Fit. The app helps customers find their true shoe size by scanning their feet with the app.
Conclusion
Augmented reality has blended in with human lives, whether we realize it or not. It is slowly becoming part of our daily lives. The examples above are proof of how integrated technology has grown with modern-day lifestyles. And this is going to continue, making lives more and more easier. But you need not worry that this will make you inactive physically since there will come games and other innovations that will take care of those aspects as well. As a whole, augmented reality and related technologies are truly game changers in the field, with the creative innovations they provide, with immense future potential.
