Mobile augmented reality (AR) has yet to take its place front and centre in everyday life, but that isn’t to say there aren’t impactful developments taking place behind the scenes. Mobile AR, a digital technology that allows users to see an added layer of interactive information through their mobile device, is growing exponentially. For businesses looking to position themselves in this technological upswing, knowing about the hottest upcoming trends in mobile AR technology in the field of medicine, retail, and real estate can make all the difference in your company’s success.
Retail Revolution
Take the retail industry, for instance. IKEA has released an AR mobile application called IKEA Place that allows shoppers to place any piece of furniture into a space to visualize a purchase, modify its colour, size, or model—all without leaving their homes. In another example of a shortened buyer’s journey through mobile AR, the popular social media app Snapchat has recently partnered with Amazon to allow users to take a photo of an object or barcode to bring up a card that shows price, availability, and title for online purchase.
The Rise of Medical Apps
Meanwhile, medical apps are the most popular kind of application for smartphones after gaming, and healthcare organizations, practitioners, and civilians should consider some promising AR technologies that will shape the future of healthcare. A current trend involves a handheld AR device created by AccuVein that illuminates a map of a patient’s veins over their skin for easy, simple IV injections that benefit both patient and practitioner.
Mobile AR is also spreading toward the general health and wellness industry. The AR application by health company Saagara is just one indicator of what’s possible. Saagara AR uses informational cards and posters that become animated through AR to guide the user through an informational, visually stimulating educational experience.
Real Estate Boom
Real estate is another field that, with widespread integration of mobile AR, will require businesses to adapt their technology to meet customer needs. One of the currently upcoming trends in real estate AR focuses on new ways to tell narratives to prospective buyers. With the potential to completely modify a space’s appearance through AR to appeal to families or seniors or young professionals alike, the way to sell spaces is changing. Another approach in real estate AR is trending towards digital versions of buildings, that is, cloud-based models that can hold information like renovation dates, tenants, maintenance needs, and more.
Street Peek and Sign Snap
Anyone who has ever hunted for a home knows how irritating it can be to pound the pavement in search of your next house. Scanning listings, touring open houses, and trying to keep track of a parade of homes is exhausting. That’s why realtor.com has introduced their Street Peek app—an app that promises to revolutionize how people shop for homes. Street Peek uses your phone’s GPS and image recognition capabilities to bring up information about homes when you point your camera in their direction. Info like last sale price, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, or estimated value will come up instantly. And when you pair that with realtor.com’s Sign Snap feature, you can instantly bring up all listing details for a given home simply by using the app and pointing it at the home’s For Sale sign!
Augmented Reality tech is improving by the day, so if you want to learn more about app development in the AR sphere, now’s the time to get involved. Using AR can help your app stand out—not only by being cutting edge, but also by providing that extra little something for users searching for an extra degree of convenience, better ease of application, or just a cool factor that other apps can’t quite deliver.
There are over 2000 AR apps available in the iOS App Store and over 200 on Google Play, and there’s only room for this industry to grow. It’s predicted that mobile AR could reach a $90 billion revenue within 5 years. Businesses looking to meet their customers’ ever-changing needs via mobile AR can partner with a lean mobile app developer to come up with the perfect mobile application to boost revenue in the fastest and most cost-effective way possible. A developer can work with you to fully understand your customers’ experience and tailor your AR offerings to provide an informational and delightful experience for users.
