The immersive experience of real-life elements with computer-generated imagery is what makes Augmented Reality technology so powerful. The technology is becoming more and more integrated into everyday business. Industries worldwide have realized that AR allows their companies to go the extra mile in improving their customer experience and that the extent of the technology's application is only limited by the imagination.
According to TechCrunch, experts forecast the AR industry to make up roughly 80% of the $120 billion dollar VR/AR market by the year 2021. Facebook and Samsung are two tech giant companies that have heavily invested into the field, and this is because they've determined it would be profitable area of growth for their companies.
Would your customer base be on board with the Augmented Reality wave? We'll provide some real life applications to give you a clearer picture of whether the technology can offer solid solutions to problems experienced by your customers or provide improvements for their overall customers experience.
Remember, when you strive to be company that works to make your customers' lives easier, they reward you back with loyalty. Always move forward with that in mind, rather than simply chasing the latest trend.
AR Helps Users Make a Purchase Decision
There's a saying, Try Before You Buy, that could be synonymous with AR technology. AR helps customers get a better handle of whether a prospective purchase is going to click with their personal needs and wants enough for them to buy it.
Many interior design stores have turned to AR technology to help their customers
make their final purchase decision. They've created apps to take their customers' browsing experience to the next level, allowing them to preview furniture in their home or outdoors on their patios. This allows customers to skip the hassle of bringing heavy furniture to their homes and also gives them to try more options they may have dismissed prematurely before the technology. These apps also go a step further, allowing customers to take a picture of furniture already in their home to find the closest possible matches.
AR Improves User Experience
AR can also be utilized in the operating room. Microsoft's HoloLens is a headset that allows medical professionals to have images and reports like patient information, CT scans, and even 3D views of organs made available to them during surgery. It has even been used for surgical training exercises.
This technology improves surgical efficiency, communication, and collaboration in the operating room. Surgeons who have used the technology have also cited that it allows them to be more accurate and everyone who goes under the knife will surely be happy to hear that.
AR Can Improve Education and Training
AR is becoming increasingly popular in schools because of its ability to provide visual aids to supplement lessons. Instead of just learning about volcanoes or outer space, students can experience them. They can explore the deep sea. They can view dinosaurs up close and personal. They can even walk on the moon.
Star Walk 2 is an app that allows users to turn their phone camera to the night sky and identify constellations. This app took a process that is usually learned from books or videos and made it a fun and interactive user experience, which is great for people who prefer to learn in a hands-on way.
Many teachers have reported that AR technology has helped keep their students engaged and learn what their passions are with a taste of what the real life
experience could be. This shows that AR could have solid implications not just for schools, but educating and training professionals as well. It is already being used in medical and law enforcement training.
AR Can Save Money, Time, and Energy
AR technology also makes it far less costly for teams to collaborate. Think of team who wants to crreate a building together, but lives in different parts of the world. Instead of everyone having to travel to collaborate on the design of the building, the team could use AR technology to work on a 3D model together remotely.
AR would also allow this team to edit, add notes, and inform each other of changes to this model in real-time. This would save everyone involved money, time, and energy. Think about if these changes had to be incorporated into a real-life 3D model. It would be much more costly and difficult to implement. The AR model helps the team identify potential problems before implementation. The project would've been a far more intensive experience to say the least.
AR technology allows companies to save resources, collaborate, and. Think deeply about how you could use AR to do something like this for your own customers, and the effort will reward your company back.