When the term “augmented and virtual reality” was originally created in 1990, it was just a theory. When Star Trek: The Next Generation introduced the Holodeck, a fictional immersive virtual reality environment, a Boeing researcher named Tom Caudell came up with the idea.
Immersive virtual realities are now closer than ever before. App development is already being influenced by augmented reality (AR). Pokemon Go was one of the most significant and well-known AR apps to hit the market in 2016.
Pokemon Go drew worldwide attention, prompting AR brand collaborations from companies like Starbucks and T-Mobile. It’s a Niantic-developed and-published mobile game for iOS and Android.
What do you need to know about Augmented Reality (AR) app development?
Virtual reality is not the same as augmented reality (VR). Unlike VR, which is fully immersive and needs a headset like the Oculus Rift, AR allows app developers and businesses to overlay digital information on real-world things. You can rent a walking
guide in museums and galleries all around the world – usually on a gadget the size of an old phone or Walkman with headphones.
Consider what would happen if you instead downloaded an app and pointed it to displays to acquire more information. When you have a product or service that would benefit from a digital overlay of new and intriguing information, that is the type of immersive experience your company may deliver customers with AR.
AR is already affecting app development throughout the world, with organizations in industries as diverse as real estate, banking, and healthcare requesting AR layering and augmentation for their upcoming apps.
Unlike VR technology, augmented reality is more accessible and does not necessitate the purchase of new equipment. AR technology is accessible to anyone who owns a smartphone with a camera. Location-based services can be useful, but they aren’t required. There are two forms of AR that organizations can supply if they want to include it in or alongside their mobile offerings.
Location-Based AR Technology
The two types of AR that can be used in apps are location-based and market-based.
As the name implies, location-based AR uses the phone’s geolocation data to directly influence the AR experience within the app. This is an example.
For example, this often means that the user may interact with the world physically as well as with an augmented digital overlay no matter where they are. You might provide consumers an immersive tour of a city, a museum, or gallery, or assist someone in finding their parking spot in a crowded metropolis in this manner.
To benefit from a location-based AR experience, users must allow the app to share their geolocation data.
Marker-based AR
Marker-based apps rely on patterns and interaction with a smartphone camera rather than geographic data. When an app is opened, pointing a smartphone’s camera at a QR code containing a logo or brand symbol, for example, will generate a digital overlay of information in the real world.
Marketers have a lot of opportunities with marker-based information overlays. Digital marketing and point-of-sale can now be combined with physical promotions and in-store/on-site events. When these elements are combined, they create a powerful and effective game-changer. Even if the object in question is animated, this method can be used.
Adding a user interface overlay to a physical object, such as a piece of clothing or a restaurant meal, allows marketers to think of new ways to make an in-store experience more immersive, resulting in improved customer satisfaction and more revenue.
Sectors that would benefit from augmented reality
Of course, AR will not work in every industry. Banks, for example, require mobile apps and money transfer apps, but do customers in the financial sector desire an immersive experience?
Most likely not. One of the most difficult aspects of building AR and VR goods and services is making sure the business case matches reality.
However, there are a number of industries where an AR offering – or adapting an already successful software – makes a lot of sense. AR is worth consideration in any industry or business where clients would benefit from a better experience or more interactive information delivery. It’s widely used in the retail industry, for example, to provide.
1. Entertainment
Entertainment is one of the industries that stand to benefit the most from AR and VR technologies. Several firms can improve their offerings by incorporating an AR experience or converting an already popular game to include augmented reality technology. Consider how integrating the physical and digital worlds may enhance your game. Quests and journeys-based games would be great for an AR experience, allowing for brand collaborations and other revenue streams.
2. Retailers
Retailers are struggling in the United Kingdom, the European Union, and the United States. There have been far too many major companies and businesses closed in recent years for this to be a fleeting fad. On one level, as recent Black Friday and Cyber Monday numbers demonstrate, more consumers are shopping online than ever before. On the other hand, merchants are having difficulty adapting the in-store experience to meet the expectations of current consumers.
Retailers can use AR to blend digital and real experiences in one way. Provide a better experience for your mobile-savvy customers. You can inform them more about a product, give them offers, and create up-sell chances instead of them hunting for deals on similar products or even trying on an outfit and then buying it
online from a competitor (which is becoming more common these days). Improve your in-store shopping experience without spending a fortune on physical displays. Not only is this offering customers what they want, but it also means that merchants can respond more quickly because an AR display takes considerably less time to create and execute than physical modifications.
3. Education Industry
Immersive learning opportunities for students of all ages are possible. Students already use smartphones and tablets to access learning tools and apps, making an AR experience a short step along a well-traveled path. Imagine history, science, and art classes using augmented reality.
A VR learning center in Pomona, California, for example, can transport medical students inside the human body at a tiny level. Providing a more immersive and memorable experience than just reading about cells and viewing movies. AR has the potential to greatly boost education since educators will be able to produce information that kids will embrace more readily than traditional learning techniques.
4. The Real Estate Industry
Commercial and residential real estate sellers and letting agents can utilize AR to sell the property’s features in a similar way. AR embeds on websites and applications can provide potential buyers/tenants with a 3D view of a property, its surroundings, and the city without having to leave their home or office. Several apps already guide buyers through real estate, and more property companies are considering technology as a crucial component of their sales and marketing operations in 2019.
These are just a few examples of how businesses might benefit from augmented reality apps.
The challenges of augmented reality include creating a viable business case and determining the best method to integrate AR into the services your organization offers.
What is the best way to create augmented reality (AR) apps?
Augmented reality apps rely on various elements, including the ability to determine if the AR integration is location or marker-based, as well as some type of picture processing. A virtual reality program will nearly always superimpose digital content over a real-world object in real-time. One of the most difficult aspects of designing AR software is aligning physical and digital material.
One of the most difficult aspects of this task is ensuring that the UI/UX is precisely customized to the demands of the user; otherwise, the app may not provide much
value to those that download it. Maintain a basic and straightforward AR experience. People will avoid using it since it is complicated and clumsy.
AR app creation necessitates a unique set of abilities that are rarely seen in mobile development teams. Although you will need to collaborate with mobile app developers, you will also want competence in 3D modeling, computer vision, and imaging. One or more expert designers/developers will be required to supply such talents while collaborating with app developers to integrate AR elements into a new or renovated app.
To keep things simple for other app developers working on the project, most augmented reality app development projects are written in C# or C++.
Thankfully, developers working on AR projects can rely on trustworthy platforms to generate AR objects and take advantage of a variety of useful tools that cut down on development time. ARPA SDKs, DroidAR (for Android), Metaio SDK, Vuforia SDK, Wikitude SDK, and ARLab SDK are among these systems. Almost all support iOS, Android, Google Glass, Windows, and Unity, making it easy to get started developing an AR app with the help of a community and a variety of tools.
Assuming that augmented reality can improve consumer interactions and revenue,
In Conclusion
Consumers are more open to embracing immersive AR technologies than ever before. This expanding tendency can benefit businesses in a variety of industries. Creating experiences that combine digital and physical elements will elevate your consumer experience and open up new income and promotional options for you. However, if you want to work on an AR project for your company, you’ll need a solid team. If you’ve never produced an AR product before, make sure you recruit experienced people.
Author Bio: Jazz P. is Sr. Website & App Developer at Echo Innovate IT – A Leading Android & iPhone App Development Company, Their responsibility is to deliver an outstanding
user experience providing an exceptional and intuitive application development. designing ideas using various methods and the latest technology. They provide App Development services, Website Development, Software Development, UI UX Designing, and many more.
