You may have noticed a surge in Augmented Reality news lately. AR isn’t anything new; it’s been around for decades, but with a rising trend of emerging technologies, we’re seeing it take over almost every industry at an accelerated rate. As a result, it’s changing the way we look at the world and our future . . . literally.
So what industries are being impacted by AR technology in 2020? We’ll show you three that are all the buzz this year:
1.) Automotive
It’s been a big year for the automotive industry with self-driving cars and the implementation of IoT, and while we haven’t achieved flying cars quite yet, we’re still on the path to something quite exciting with the integration of augmented reality.
One of the biggest ways we’re seeing AR used in the automotive industry is with car manufacturers showcasing features and specifications of their vehicles, which is enhancing the shopping experience to unprecedented levels.
Toyota is leading the charge. Their augmented reality technology doesn’t require you to download an app – all a user needs to do is go on Toyota’s social platforms, click on a banner ad, and the technology is showcased.
Customers are now able to see 10 different car model exteriors, place them in different environments (e.g., their driveway or garage) in the real world, and can even inspect various angles of a car by walking around it.
This personalized experience is changing the way consumers buy cars, allowing them to be immersed in a rich visual reality, saving them time without the hassle.
2.) Real Estate
What if you could change the interior of a room in a matter of seconds? The color of the walls, the furniture, and lighting with a single swipe?
It’s happening with augmented reality technology, and it’s disrupting the real estate business at an incredibly fast rate (a recent Goldman Sachs report showed AR in real estate could add up to $2.6 billion by 2050.)
Brokers are taking advantage of this technology to enhance their home showing experiences by giving potential home buyers a visual showing of spaces in a way where they can customize rooms however they want.
We’re seeing this with luxury real estate brand, Sotheby’s International Realty, who recently released Curate, an immersive AR experience application where homebuyers can visualize their house before they purchase.
Not only does this allow future home buyers to save time allowing them to customize a space in the real world, it also saves brokers thousands of dollars by not having to clean and prepare a property.
3.) Healthcare
It comes to no surprise that hospitals and clinics are implementing cutting edge technologies into their practices. Augmented reality is one of many, but already it’s making a huge impact within the field of medicine. One popular area is in surgery, where doctors are using 3D projects of their patients to help with operations.
An example of this is the EchoPixel True 3D, a surgical imaging platform that uses mixed reality for more precise surgery. This tool allows doctors to scan 2D images and create 3D objects, giving them the ability to look at the brain and other areas of the body during surgery.
The appeal of using augmented reality allows doctors to avoid touching a screen or documentation which has the risk of spreading bacteria.
Instead, they can wear glasses like Microsoft’s HoloLens and create holographic images of what they need to see to perform surgery; they don’t need to look away from the patient, but instead, have all the information they need. This will make surgery safer by having all the data they need right within reach.
But it doesn’t stop here.
The impact of augmented reality doesn’t end with surgery, real estate, or cars. This is just a small taste of what augmented reality is bringing to various industries.
Related post: How is Augmented Reality Used in Business?
The future of AR is limitless; it’s come to the point where people are looking forward to other emerging technologies such as mixed reality, which is something that has our CEO and CTO, Dom Tancredi, excited for: “In this emerging tech space, the thing I’m most excited about is mixed reality – the opportunities that this hybrid reality brings is incredible. Already, we’re seeing cutting-edge experiments, especially in the gaming consumer space that is impacting the way we experience the world around us.”
Tancredi continues, “All the sci-fi books I’m reading have mixed reality, from Richard K. Morgan’s Thin Air to William Gibson’s Agency.”
The world around us is becoming more and more immersive every day. With new innovations appearing and changing the way we live, we truly are looking at our future differently, and we invite you to join in!
Here at Dom & Tom, we offer creative and engineering services in AR and would love to help you with a product that integrates these technologies. Schedule some time with one of our strategists today.