Augmented Reality has yet the best to offer. We are sure about that. Users were mind-blown when they first experienced AR even when it was not as developed as it is at present and it has a lot more to offer in the years to come. We cannot fully grasp the full potential of this technology and the impact it can have in the near future.
From games to online shopping, decor, education and tourism, to name a few, the application of Augmented Reality opens a wide range of possibilities for users, brands and developers in terms of experience, interaction and entertainment.
When thinking of AR, one thing is undeniable: the only boundaries are in our own minds, especially as 5G continues to expand across countries and networks.
AR’s impact in cities
AR can be disruptive and we usually fantasize about the future, so we imagined of all the possibilities that AR can bring if applied to cities and tourism, with the endless ways we could benefit for it: navigating through the city could be faster and fun; a gray city could become an art gallery with a different exhibition every week; architects could test their projects in the actual environment and many more…
These are some of the possibilities that we came up with when thinking of the possibility of AR turning cities into open-air museums and how it could have a great cultural and educational impact.
- Then vs. Now
As cities continue to develop and change faster than ever before in history, a single storey house can be replaced by a skyscraper in a few weeks, making it hard to picture how places have transformed over the years. Wouldn’t you love it if you could point your camera’s phone to a building, choose a decade and see how that exact same place looked back then? We certainly would! - Add characters
When it comes to adding characters in the scene, with Augmented Reality there are certainly no limits. You could bring into the scene historical characters, famous people, people who lived in a previous era or even a friend of yours… Even statues could be brought to life to tell their story and interact with people! - Entertainment aimed at children
What if a child’s imagination could be enhanced by AR? The city could become a kid’s fantasy land by adding a few characters, colors and animations here and there… a boring building could become a castle, a fountain could hide secret magic creatures living underwater, a park could become a playground with elves playing hide-and-seek behind trees. Seriously, we mean it when we say that there are endless possibilities. - Video
Of course, in a world where video content is watched, liked and shared, it cannot stay out of AR’s reach. The possibility of playing movies and short clips, and even adding sound to them, could result in a different way to experience every corner of any city. Through videos the scene could be completely transformed, taking the viewer to a historical moment, a movie that was recorded in that exact place, an animation of a battle that took place there, a video of a person telling a story of the town or a local advising the traveler of all the must-see attractions nearby. - History and Architecture
Lastly, not as impressive but not less significantly, thanks to AR your phone could become your own tour guide in every city. You could point to a building and know its architectural style, who built it, the year of construction, what it is (an embassy, a Government property, a monument) and any other detail of that park, fountain, bridge, building or statue.
Innovation through AR: what can we do at ThinkUp?
Recently, at ThinkUp, we had the chance to develop for one of our clients an app designed for art-lovers, in which the user can save paintings and see exactly how they would look on top of that sofa, in a building’s entrance, in that waiting room or any place they want, only by pointing the painting in a wall. We are thankful to work with brands that look for ways to take advantage of technology and solve the users’ needs through it.
As we see our job, if something can be imagined there has to be some way to make it possible. Think of an industry, from Real Estate to Health, any can certainly benefit from a smart and creative application of AR. These are some ways it could impact some of them:
Real Estate:
- Prospects would be amazed if given the possibility to visit any house they are interested in without having to travel to the actual place.
- Through Home Staging, homes could be fully redecorated in different styles to suit all types of prospects.
- People could try how furniture would look prior to moving in.
- Prospects could walk around the neighbor and see the surroundings of a property.
Fashion and beauty:
- Apps for buyers to virtually try clothes at home will.
- AR fashion shows could replace traditional shows and bring customers closer to brands.
- Immersive shopping experiences through AR walks around the store without leaving home, interacting with videos and products.
Sports:
- AR makes it possible to train at home with a personal trainer, hundreds of people following the same routine or a whole crowd cheering during the training.
- Walking on a treadmill, boring for most, could become a whole new experience if people could choose to walk around a city, a forest or even an imaginary planet!
Manufacturing:
- Simulate supply chains, estimate production time and schedules and prevent accidents.
- The application of Augmented Reality also simplifies machine training and learning new processes.
Health:
- Rehabilitation therapies would benefit from AR by allowing patients to follow the exercises without having to travel, which is crucial for those with limited mobility.
- Surgical procedures can be supported by Augmented Reality to improve safety and precision.
Architecture:
- Present the new building in its actual environment.
- Turn a plan into a mock-up or even a true size model.
- Make virtual showrooms for prospects
Education:
- Medicine, Architecture and almost any other discipline would benefit from adding AR to the learning process, especially if we focus on remote learning, as a consequence of the pandemic.
- Possibilities regarding interactive content mean a new horizon for education, replacing traditional lectures and enriching online webinars, conferences and courses.
We are curious, which other uses of AR would you like to see in the future? Leave your comment!
