Benefits of Integrating Augmented Reality in Mobile Apps

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There has been a significant disconnect among educators, companies offering products and services, healthcare providers aiding their patients, and multiple other sectors. This disconnect pertains to the absence of an immersive and experiential experience for engaging users. However, with the advent of augmented reality (AR) technology and its integration with mobile applications, a solution has materialized.

Augmented reality allows the superimposition of virtual reality objects onto real-world environments. This offers an interactive experience where they can manipulate these virtual objects using gestures. 

With this article, we aim to elucidate the advantages of incorporating augmented reality into mobile applications. So, let's delve into the topic¦

 

Application of AR Apps in Different Industries

There are several applications of AR mobile apps in different industries. To give you a better idea, we have provided application of AR in all the major industries:

 

Retail

The retail industry has massively transformed since the inception of e-commerce. In order to purchase products, the customers had to visit brick and mortar stores. However, with e-commerce, customers can purchase products online. Furthermore, online shopping lacked one thing i.e. the real life experience of trying the product.

AR mobile apps had the capacity to help with this problem statement. Using AR apps, customers can try on clothing items, glasses, checkout furniture, and a lot more. To further explain, here are some of the ways AR apps can be used in retail:

- Virtual tours and visualization of product in the space

- Gamified shopping experience

- Virtual try-on of the product

- In-store display

- Brand engagement

- Visualization of product

 

Real-Life Example:

Nike - Letting customers experience the supply chain of the shoe

IKEA- Capability to place furniture at home virtually

WatchBox - Virtual try-on for watches

 

Gaming and Entertainment

There isn't an iota of doubt that AR technology can be used for creating immersive and interactive gaming experiences. AR games allow the user to interact with virtual characters and virtual objects by using the application. Furthermore, the entertainment industry has been using AR to promote their movies. With capability to transform movie goers to experience the world of the movie simply by using a VR kit and interacting with the objects, AR is truly revolutionizing for gaming and entertainment. To give further idea, here are some applications of AR technology in the industry.

- AR for TV

- AR in eSports 

- AR in theater

- Games with physical exercise

- For social interactions

 

Real-Life Example:

- Pokemon Go

- Ingress

- Mandalorian AR marketing campaign

 

Education and Training

Education and training has always been very manual. It is good for people who can read and learn, however, it doesn't provide any experiential learning. Another obstacle is that it would cost a lot for institutions to replicate the experience in real-life for many use cases. In fact, some situations are even difficult to create, for instance a fire fighting drill, conducting a surgery on the patient, and many others.

With AR apps, it is possible to give this experience to users. Of course, it will be different from real-world experience, however, the students won't be going into the field or assisting their first practical experience without being in that situation. 


Here are some applications of AR apps in education and training:

- Creating scenarios for healthcare students

- Military training

- Manufacturing of equipments

- Teaching installation and maintenance

- Car driving

 

Real-Life Example:

- Google Expeditions

- Quiver

- Anatomy 4D

 

Manufacturing

Teaching the workers on ground to manufacture items can be a catastrophe at times. Some of the machines used today are complicated and can lead to breakdowns as well mishappenings. With AR not only the manufacturing industry can bridge this gap but provide workers with real-time instructions, and information related to the process.


Here are some applications of AR apps in the manufacturing industry:

- Training of employees and upskilling

- Quality control and maintenance of machines

- Design and assessment of products

- Management of logistics and warehouse

- Customer support

 

Real-Life Example:

Thyssenkrupp - High definition holograms for visualization to showcase their products to the customer

Boeing - Wiring 787-7 freighters

Porsche - AR for quality control

 

Healthcare

Healthcare can have a massive impact with the full-fledged application of AR apps especially in case of surgeries. Majority of medical students try to understand human anatomy using cadavers and assist senior surgeons to gain knowledge. With AR, the medical students can witness a variety of surgeries without even putting their feet inside an operation theater. However, there are many other applications of healthcare such as:

- Surgeries

- Rehabilitation

- Treatment planning

- Patient education

- Diagnosis

 

Real-Life Example:

- AccuVein

- BrainsWay

- ProctorU

 

Logistics & Transportation

The logistics and transportation sector is a tightly woven network created to transport products, merchandise, and other similar things from one place to another without losing it. It is in itself a miracle that we have the capability to manufacture something in one country and export it to some place else. However, it is difficult to handle this chain.

With AR apps, logistics and transportation processes can be used for providing workers with real-time information and navigation assistance for the people working in the niche. Some of the applications of AR in logistics and transportation are:

- Order management

- Dispatching the order

- Tracking of merchandise

- Fleet management

- Warehouse management

 

Real-Life Example:

DHL - AR glasses to assist warehouse workers

Walmart - Inventory management and restocking shelves

FedEx - Finding delivery locations

 

Benefits of Using AR Apps - In General!

AR mobile apps are becoming increasingly popular considering the immense benefits it brings onto the table. It enables augmented reality companies to create an intuitive and immersive experience, thereby, helping tons in terms of product explanation. To further extrapolate the benefits, we have created a list that one can go through to make up their mind and invest in the AR experience. These are:

Enhanced User Engagement: AR mobile apps are evidently more engaging and interactive as they provide virtual objects in real-world settings. The user can manipulate the shape, size, or completely remove the virtual objects using gestures

Immersive Experience: As discussed earlier, it gives a perception to the user as if they are a part of the virtual world with capability to interact with virtual characters. This turns this experience into a close to real world experience

Competitive Differentiation: Not every business is making use of augmented reality, however, it is a thing and customers like these experiences. Therefore, it can be a key differentiating factor to gather more customer attention and increase brand awareness.

Employee Training: Letting a new employee operate on equipment or leave them on field without any assistance can lead to unwanted issues. AR mobile apps can be used to give that experience that will enable employees, students, and anyone who's learning an experiential experience, a close to real-life practice for dealing with different situations.

Reducing Cognitive Load: Majority of learnings are done through textbook resources or manuals. Either way, the person you are trying to teach isn't capable of grasping the experiential aspect that leads to cognitive learning. With AR, this gap can be bridged effectively.

 

Additional Benefits¦

- It can lead to increased sales due to higher customer retention and better understanding of the product.

- It can enhance customer service through real-time assistance and information via virtual objects in a virtual world.

- It can be used for navigation and providing information and warnings beforehand, giving the driver to be aware of.

 

Wrapping Up!

The integration of AR technology into mobile apps has bridged significant gaps across multiple industries. Augmented reality development companies are empowering educators, businesses, healthcare providers, etc. with their products and services. 

With the capability to reshape how we interact and provide a real-like experience, AR is playing an important role in overall improving the customer experience. Furthermore, this technology is destined to continue doing that in the future, in numerous ways unimaginable as of now.

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