What is an augmented reality app and how to create it
When the term “augmented and virtual reality” was created in 1990, it was little more than a hypothesis. Tom Caudell, a Boeing researcher, initially proposed the notion when Star Trek: The Next Generation introduced the Holodeck, a fictitious immersive virtual reality environment.
We are now closer than ever to experiencing immersive virtual worlds. Augmented reality (AR) is already influencing app development. Pokemon Go was one of the most significant and well-known AR apps to enter the market in 2016.
Pokemon Go captivated the world’s attention, prompting AR commercial collaborations including Starbucks and T-Mobile. It is a mobile game created and released by Niantic for iOS and Android smartphones that has broken world download and app revenue records. Pokemon Go, which was released in 2016, has 900 million downloads as of September 2018, and an estimated $1.2 billion in revenue, according to Apptopia.
But, Pokemon Go is far from the only notable augmented reality participant. According to experts questioned by the BBC, current market forecasts suggest that it might be as high as $162 billion in 2024. AR device and service revenue is presently over $54 billion and is rapidly increasing.
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What do you need to know about developing an app with Augmented Reality (AR)?
AR is not the same as virtual reality (VR). Unlike VR, which is immersive and typically needs a headgear like the Oculus Rift, AR allows app developers and businesses to overlay digital information on real-world things. You may rent a walking guide in museums and galleries all around the world, generally on a gadget the size of an old phone or Walkman, with headphones.
Consider instead downloading an app and pointing it at displays to gain additional information. When you have a product or service that would benefit from a digital overlay of new and intriguing information, your organisation might give clients with an immersive experience via AR. AR is already having an impact on app development throughout the world, with organisations in industries as broad as real estate, banking, and healthcare requesting AR layers and augmentation for apps they are building.
Unlike virtual reality, augmented reality is more accessible and does not necessitate the purchase of new equipment. AR technology is accessible to anybody who has a smartphone with a camera. It is beneficial to have location-based services enabled, although it is not required. There are two options for organisations contemplating incorporating AR into or alongside their mobile products.
Location-based AR
AR may be incorporated into apps in two ways: location-based and marker-based.
As the name implies, location-based AR leverages geolocation data from phones to directly impact the AR experience within the app. For example, wherever the user goes, they may interact with the world both physically and through an augmented digital overlay. You might provide consumers an interactive tour of a city, a museum or gallery, or assist someone in finding where they parked in a big metropolis this manner.
To benefit from a location-based AR experience, users must authorise geolocation data sharing with the app.
Marker-based AR
Marker-based is a little different.
Marker-based apps, rather of depending on geographic inputs, rely on patterns and interaction with a smartphone camera. When an app is opened, for example, pointing a smartphone’s camera at a QR code containing a logo or brand sign generates a digital overlay of information in the real world.
Marketers have a lot of possibilities with marker-based information overlays. Digital marketing and point-of-sale may now be combined with physical promotions and in-store/on-site events. When these elements are combined, they provide a potent and effective game changer. This is especially true if the thing in issue is animated.
Putting a UI overlay over a real product, such as a piece of apparel or a meal at a restaurant, allows marketers to think creatively about how to make an in-store experience more immersive, resulting in a better customer experience and higher revenue.
Sectors that would benefit from AR
Of course, AR will not work in every industry. Banks, for example, require mobile applications and money transfer apps, but do clients in the financial industry desire an immersive experience? Very likely not. One of the difficulties in building AR and VR goods and services is ensuring that the business case matches reality.
Yet, there are numerous industries where an AR solution – or modifying an existing software – makes a lot of sense. AR is worth consideration in any industry or business where clients can benefit from a better experience or more interactive information delivery. It is often used in the retail business, for example, to provide
1. Entertainment
The entertainment industry stands to benefit the most from AR and VR technologies. Some firms may improve their offerings by including an AR experience or customising an already popular game using augmented reality technology. Consider how integrating the physical and digital worlds might enhance your game. Games with missions and trips would be great for an AR experience, which would also allow for brand collaborations and other income sources.
2. Retail
Brick-and-mortar stores are failing in the United Kingdom, the European Union, and the United States. Too many major companies and shops have gone out of business in recent years for this to be a fleeting fad. On one level, as recent Black Friday and Cyber Monday numbers illustrate, more consumers are buying online than ever before. On another level, merchants are attempting to modify the in-store experience to meet the expectations of current consumers.
AR is one method for shops to blend digital and real experiences. Offer your tech-savvy consumers a better experience. Instead of them seeking for bargains on comparable things, or even putting on an outfit and then purchasing it online from a rival (which is becoming more common these days), you may teach them more about a product, make offers, and generate up-sell chances. Improve your in-store retail experience without spending a fortune on physical displays. This not only gives customers what they want, but it also allows merchants to respond more rapidly because there is a considerably shorter lead time between producing and installing an AR display when compared to physical alterations.
3. Education
Learning experiences for students of every age group can become more immersive. Students are already accessing learning tools and apps on smartphones and tablets, making an AR experience a small step along a road already traveled. Just imagine history, science and art classes with the benefit of AR?
In medical school, for example, a VR learning center in Pomona, California, can take medical students inside the human body at the microscopic level. Providing a more memorable and immersive experience than simply reading about cells and watching videos. Education can and will benefit enormously from AR, with education providers able to create content that students will embrace more readily than traditional learning methods.
4. Tourism
AR may assist tourism operators in a variety of ways.
You may show consumers the places on offer more readily as part of the sales process. Increasing the ease with which a city, area, or resort may be sold. When you arrive at your location, AR applications may provide more information and immersive experiences that will improve the overall enjoyment of your trip.
Some apps currently incorporate augmented reality into the tourist experience. When a smartphone camera is directed at a sign, Word Lens, for example, turns it into English – and several other languages. In the United Kingdom, the Historic Cities app guides travellers through the history of remarkable cities. AR apps like this may also serve as an ideal gateway for brand tie-ins and advertising, allowing for the creation of hyper-local possibilities and products that would not be conceivable without location or marker-based AR
5. Real Estate
Similarly, commercial and residential real estate sellers and letting agencies may utilise AR to sell the property’s benefits. AR embeds on websites and applications may provide potential buyers/tenants with a 3D view of a property, the surrounding neighbourhood, and the city without requiring them to leave their home or workplace. Numerous apps now guide buyers through real estate, and many more property businesses see this as an important component of their sales and marketing operations in 2019.
Here are just a few examples of how businesses might employ augmented reality apps.
Identifying a solid business case and determining the best technique to integrate AR with the services your firm offers are two augmented reality issues. If this is something you want to pursue, there are a few things you should think about, including the possible monetary implications.
How to develop augmented reality (AR) apps
Augmented reality apps rely on various elements, including the ability to determine if the AR integration is location-based or marker-based, as well as some type of image processing capacity. Almost always, an AR app will superimpose digital material over a real-world item in real-time. One of the most difficult issues in designing an AR software is achieving alignment between real and digital material.
A crucial element of that problem is ensuring that the UI/UX is precisely customised to the demands of the user; otherwise, the app may not give much value to people that download it. Make your augmented reality experience basic and straightforward. People will be thrown off by its complexity and clumsiness.
Creating AR apps necessitates a wide range of abilities that are seldom found in mobile development teams. Although you will need to collaborate with mobile app developers, you will also require specialisations such as 3D modelling, computer vision, and image knowledge. One or more expert designers/developers will be required to supply those talents while working alongside app developers to incorporate the AR features with a new or upgraded app.
To keep things easy for other app developers working on the project, most augmented reality app development projects are done in C# and C++. Fortunately, developers working on AR projects may turn to trustworthy platforms to generate AR objects and employ a plethora of amazing tools that shorten the development timeline. ARPA SDKs, DroidAR (for Android), Metaio SDK, Vuforia SDK, Wikitude SDK, and ARLab SDK are among the platforms supported. Virtually all have iOS, Android, Google Glass, Windows, and Unity compatibility, making it easy to get started designing an AR app with the help of a community and hundreds of valuable tools.
If AR can add value to your customer interactions and revenue, let’s look at how much it costs to design and integrate AR within an app.
How much does AR development costs?
Although there are various possibilities for adopting AR technology, here are three of the most common methods and how much they cost when working with an Eastern European development team.
1. Basic ‘gyroscope’ implementation
Consider an app that lacks AR. Add a gyroscope format feature that uses a smartphone’s camera to position digital or 3D items around a user. This is one of the simplest and quickest methods to include augmented reality into your app.
2. SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping)
Putting many sensors on a device or in a given place can help establish an object’s precise position. You can utilise SLAM in an AR software to properly locate a 3D object in a new location, which Ikea and other furniture stores find beneficial.
3. Location-based AR
One of the most popular formats also necessitates a significant amount of labour and the use of numerous technologies. Developing a location-based AR software entails using GPS, Wi-Fi, and a compass, as well as 3D tools and digital content production to generate the information overlay.
Key takeaways
Customers are more eager than ever to embrace immersive augmented reality technologies. This expanding tendency can help businesses in a variety of industries. Developing experiences that combine digital and physical elements can elevate your consumer experience and open up intriguing new revenue and promotional opportunities. To work on an AR project for your company, you will need a solid team. If you have never produced an AR product before, make sure you recruit experienced people.
Have an Augmented Reality App in mind but dont know where to start? Join us at Digitalfren and begin your AR app development journey today.