Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) in Mobile App Development: How Your Product Can Implement AR And VR For Enhanced Efficiency And Decision Making
Augmented Reality (AR) is a technology that layers holograms ( digital images ) on the physical world. It does this by using an in-built sensor, transparent lens, and spatial sound to understand your environment and layer holograms on the real world. For instance, you could see dolphins swimming in the world around you through your smartphone or a clear visor.
Virtual Reality (VR) is a technology that places the user in a computer generated world ( virtual world ) through the use of a headset with a built in screen. This headset uses a technology known as “ head tracking “ to allow the user to look around the virtual world by simply moving their head in any direction. For instance, you could explore the ocean filled with dolphins and different species of fish while still being in the real world.
Birthed in the 1800’s by a scientist called Sir Charles Wheatstone who outlined the concept of binocular vision where the brain combines two images, one from each eye, to make a single 3D image with an illusion of depth. This led to the development of stereoscopes devices used in today’s VR systems to bring a sense of depth to the virtual world thereby enhancing the feeling of immersion.
AR and VR can be used in various fields ranging from sports to medicine and even home decor. A popular furniture company named IKEA allows customers to layer furniture from their business into their homes to decide if the color matches or if it is a good fit for their home without leaving the comfort of their house. Neurosurgeons use an AR scan of a brain to perform complicated surgeries before the main surgery is carried out. Sport analysts and broadcasters use AR to draw lines on the field during a football game to analyze plays.
(I) AR and VR in Mobile Apps
Creating an AR or VR application begins much like any other mobile application. With your business objective in mind, design, frontend framework, backend framework, a database, cloud services, and testing tools for quality assurance, It helps your customers:
- Experience a smooth performance while exploring your product.
- Experience what the item or product or service would be like for them, thereby increasing the odds of a customer completing a sale.
- Save time and money when a virtual trial of a product or service is created.
It helps employees in a business:
- Be better equipped for emergencies such as a sudden boost in sales and pressure on manpower and machinery.
- Develop technical skills for enhancing the effectiveness of learning materials and increase office productivity
(II) Companies
Companies like Perfect Corp.’s technologies have virtual try-on solutions for social media that helps customers experience their product through the platform they use every day. This has facilitated success and increase in sales for many companies by boosting their mobile app engagement.
Clothing retailers such as Uniqlo and American Apparel are providing virtual fitting rooms to enhance users’ shopping experience.
Snap Inc. Technology uses software that allows content creators on social media to make filters that immerse users into worlds like the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. or even walk around with the “Shrek in the Sky” filter.
(A) Metrics
The global virtual fitting room market used by Uniqlo and American Apparel is projected to grow from $3.5 billion to $12.97 billion starting from 2021 to 2028. In a survey done by Snap Inc., 56% of users who experienced the AR feature claimed it encouraged them to make a purchase
(B) Risks
Seeing as AR and VR needs a lot of user’s data — i.e Biometric data such as retinal scans, fingerprints, handprints, face geometry, and voiceprints — it begs the question of how much of the user’s privacy is at risk of being used by hackers? Where do companies store augmented reality data — locally on the device or in the cloud? If the data is sent to a cloud, is it encrypted? Can an attacker capture a user’s finger tracking data showing fingers typing a PIN and recreate the user’s PIN? All of these present a real problem if VR and AR systems are hacked.
(III) Implementation Strategy
When it comes to implementing the specific functions of the actual AR and VR feature, it is best to first consult with your technology team. Specify your business goals, define your consumers personas, research the target market, research your competitors, identify key features, and if your product’s vision is best served as AR or VR, or a combination of these. It is their job to determine the best technology optimization approach, but it is your job to ensure it aligns with your product’s commercial and strategic objectives.
Once you’ve determined the features for your mobile application, the next step is to ensure you select the right tools that will go into your technology stack. A critical factor to be considered is how your mobile application will be able to utilize the hardware capabilities of your users’ smartphone. Whether you are building your mobile application on iOS or Android (or both), features like the device’s camera, Bluetooth, microphone, as well as GPS and movement detection , all of which are needed to make AR and VR mobile applications possible.
The most important requirement for AR and VR mobile applications is that they entail a powerful programming architecture on the backend that enables these apps to be able to differentiate real-world environments and virtual worlds. This can only be powered by AR and VR-specific tools, most of which (but not all) are neither open-source nor free.
Here also, you need to rely on your technology team to advise you on which SDK suits best for your product and commercial objective, but the ones listed below are the most commonly used
- Google ARCore
- Vuforia
- Apple ARKit
- ARToolKit
- Kudan
- EasyAR
- Wikitude
- MAXST
In choosing the best suited SDK for your product, you will have to consider a range of factors such as cost, operation system (OS) support (Android and/or iOS), accessory support (e.g. smart glasses or headsets), cloud recognition, 3D tracking (not all SDKs allow this), and unity support (compatibility with this popular gaming engine) as required.
(IV) Success Metrics
Now that you have decided on the right tool for your product, it is important to know that the expected global market for AR and VR is expected to reach $297billion by 2024, roughly ten times the $30.7 billion market size in 2021, Statistica reports. In 2022 alone, 14.94million AR and VR devices were shipped out to businesses and consumers, a 54.9% increase from 2021’s 9.69million according to International Data Corporation.
Conclusively, businesses should strive to stay competitive and relevant in their respective fields and this is done no other way by learning new and relevant skills and staying informed of the latest technological advancements. Implementing AR and VR in mobile apps would draw in users in such a way that it would help businesses stay ahead of the curve, stay competitive in the sales market, and save time and money in the long run. With a deep understanding of your industry and latest technological developments, you are now able to make more informed decisions about the direction of your business, the products or services you offer, and the strategies you use to reach your goals.
