by Angela Balas | Nov 17, 2020 | Articles
Think about the importance of sound in your daily life. Maybe, you’re an avid music lover or a musician yourself. But, when you really think about it– what’s an immersive experience without the auditory component?
Movie ticket prices keep rising; yet, people continue to buy them. One of the reasons may be because movie-goers truly get to experience the movie due to the high-quality surround sound. We can also explore the rise of voice assistance in GPS and Amazon’s Audible. Needless to say, audio technology is evolving to be of major significance in our future world experiences.
When we look at augmented reality we automatically associate it with the visual overlays and incredible 3D augmentation– but auditory AR is just as significant. Major technology companies such as Google and Bose have begun experimenting in this space.
According to The Verge, “Bose built a few simple apps for SXSW, which work pretty well, if not perfectly. The most impressive demonstration was an augmented reality tour of the bars and restaurants along Austin street. It worked like visual augmented reality, but with sound instead of a heads-up display: you look at a building and tap a touchpad on your temple, and they offer a sentence or two about what’s inside.”
Fascinating research is also taking place at Facebook Reality Labs. Facebook has recruited a team of ‘audio professionals’ to connect individuals on a far greater scale. They are developing ideas like audio presence and enhanced hearing. The technology they are prototyping can understand what you actually want to listen to and enhance those signals. So, for instance, if you are at an extremely noisy bar with your AR glasses, the technology enables you to hear the person sitting across from you more clearly. Likewise, if the person using the technology decides to look at the TV, the football game would get louder again.
Other spectacular use cases include remote assistance and audio AR for the blind or low vision population. GPS is useful but can only guide people to the approximate location of their target, while AR applications have greater spatial accuracy. If someone who is visually impaired is looking at a desk, the AR technology could potentially help them label all the items from left to right. Integrating an advanced audio interface into AR applications can help the blind population navigate the world in a much easier way.
Audio AR has the potential to break down barriers in our world and is just as important as visual information. By combining the superpowers of audio and visual technology– augmented reality will be even more powerful than we ever imagined.
What do you think?
by Angela Balas | Nov 6, 2020 | Articles
An energy audit is useful for homeowners and businesses to understand their quantity of energy consumption. By performing an energy audit, the goal is to reduce expenses and environmental damage. An energy audit is typically done by a utility specialist who is given permission to enter the building and uncover the upgrades or fixes needed to make the space more energy efficient. However, COVID-19 is still a concern to our society and preventative social distancing measures are in order in multiple areas across the country– meaning energy audits can’t always take place like they used to.
This presents a new pain point for prospective customers who are interested in energy audits and reducing costs but are worried about the current CDC guidelines. Fortunately, new emerging technology like augmented reality (AR) can help solve this issue. By using a smart device– which most everyone has access to– customers can interact with a professional through an app and augmented reality technology. By leveraging a remote expert, customers can be guided through a series of steps to complete the evaluation themselves. With the addition of augmented reality, the process is streamlined with real-time instructions placed in their field of view.
As mentioned in an article by the AREA, COVID-19 is acting as an accelerator by moving AR from ‘early adopters’ to a more ‘mainstream market’ with ready to use solutions. The article points out, “we’re seeing use cases that are driven by the travel bans caused by the pandemic. The most popular one is remote support.”
Not only can AR technology maintain social distancing orders, it can help the homeowner or business owner become more involved and educated in their energy usage. Tools such as AR-assisted measurement and expert energy advice seek to include the customer in the experience.
AR takes regular phone calls and remote services to a new level– improving the overall customer experience. Remote expert assistance enables technicians to visually guide and collaborate with the homeowner. Touchless audits, done remotely could continue to work in a homeowner’s favor for years to come. Future use cases of AR could include home inspections or fixing critical home maintenance issues. AR can revolutionize the spread of knowledge and allow customers to take advantage of expertise from around the world.
The current pandemic has opened up a greater conversation on how emerging technologies can be extremely beneficial in our daily lives. The AREA predicts that “by 2021 or 2022. . .you’ll have more use cases with AR as it starts to deliver more value than existing tools. There’s also a big focus now on making more tasks digital and automated by leveraging AR and AI.”
Reducing our carbon footprint will continue to be more essential as global temperatures rise at an alarming rate. It is reassuring to know that augmented reality can help with our energy consumption– along with reducing costs for businesses and homeowners alike. Think about the positive effects AR can create for our energy efficiency on a global scale.
Where do you think AR will make an impact?
by Angela Balas | Nov 6, 2020 | Articles
In 2019, approximately 1.92 million people purchased goods and services online. There is no doubt that the number of digital buyers continues to grow throughout the 21st century. With more tools than ever before including the internet, social media, and smart devices– consumers are continuing to increasingly turn to e-commerce to make their purchases.
With that being said, we can see how augmented reality (AR) has the power to disrupt this industry. One of the biggest challenges consumers face with online shopping is the inability to touch, try on, or experience the product they are about to buy. Enter AR, where the customer can get a real glimpse of what the product will look like in their own environment. Not only is AR beneficial for consumers, but businesses who invest in AR technologies may also see a decrease in returns and dissatisfaction. Let’s explore three advantages of AR in e-commerce.
Preview Products
Think about a time where you found the perfect painting or furniture set online but wished you had the ability to project what it would look like in your own home. AR solves this problem. Using AR, you can position a digitally imposed version of the item in your desired location– customizing the color or design if needed. Companies such as Ikea, Wayfair, and Home Depot have already deployed augmented reality and take the lead in adoption.
Customer Engagement
For online businesses, the goal is to keep a potential customer on your website as long as possible– eventually leading to a sale. According to Medium, video enhances customer engagement and has a direct impact on purchasing behavior. However, what if photos and videos were taken up a notch– to an interactive experience? Augmented reality can do just that. With Youtube being the second largest search engine in the world, we can see the way consumers like to interact with today’s content. Implement AR, and the numbers will skyrocket. In fact, 61% of shoppers have already said they prefer to make purchases on sites that offer augmented reality technology.
Product personalization
AR also has big opportunities in fashion and retail as “try on” technologies have been created using AR to give customers the ultimate buying experience. Brands like Sephora and Topshop have introduced new AR features that allow customers to try on a lip shade or clothing piece virtually. The greatest part is that users can interact with the products in their own way and personalize their experience. AR takes away the limitations of not visiting a physical location by allowing customers to interact with products as they would in person.
The Time is Now
Emerging technologies like augmented reality will increase customer satisfaction and user engagement. AR is a powerful tool for merchants and those who adopt sooner than later will reap the benefits.
How do you predict AR will disrupt e-commerce?
by Angela Balas | Oct 16, 2020 | Articles
With each new generation, comes lessons learned. Some may argue that traditional values have been replaced with freedom and acceptance of all. Of course, there are always two sides to a coin, as structure can be good. But, in the name of Technology, is this really such a bad thing? By uprooting what hasn’t worked in the past, we can make space for new and exciting opportunities.
Think about the Internet and the lessons we have learned from its growth and immense impact on our daily lives. For example, issues such as fake news, misinformation, and the jeopardization of privacy– have all been topics of discussion. Clearly, there have been challenges that came with a more connected world, and developers, providers, and users alike have a role in addressing them. We struggle with the question could we have predicted these challenges? And with more experience behind us now, we now face the question will humans be able to take course correct and take their power back as emerging technologies like Augmented reality and Artificial Intelligence make headway?
The acceleration of technological progress has been the focus of this last century. We are quite possibly at the edge of another massive change in our society. Soon enough, we will flip from the ‘digital native’ to the ‘interconnected human’. Information will be served to humans in a much different way, people will interact “online” differently and data will become ubiquitous.
We can only predict what Generation Z will do with such an immersive and configurable world. Generation Z, already projected to be the most diverse and best-educated generation yet, has the opportunity to hone their skills by taking advantage of augmented reality. They also have little to no memory of the world without smartphones, tablets, or computers. Generation Z never needed to adapt to a technology-centered society, it came naturally to them. We can argue this made them more progressive, as it gave them access to a much larger library of information than ever before. Social media and internet forums and communities now give users the opportunities to appreciate and acknowledge other’s perspectives from across the globe.
It can seem frightening and intimidating to accept a technology that immerses the physical with the virtual. With talk of a future brain/ cloud interface, which would connect brain cells to a vast cloud-computing network, how could you not be wary?
However, with the new generations who are beacons of change, there is trust that they will have more resources and experience to take the driver’s seat. AR natives should be doubtful of people who wish to use technology to control and separate us. Although, there may be fear that we will repeat history– I believe technology will work to make a better future for us all and we can count on younger generations to challenge the imperfections of governments and industry. If leveraged the appropriate way, Augmented reality could be our tool to tap into a collective consciousness and claim our power.
