Oganes Vagramovich Barsegyan, Founder and CEO of Digital Beverly Marketing Solutions, based in Los Angeles, CA.
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There’s nothing quite like a global pandemic to change everything you know about reality. The new year brings with it a sense of change and innovation that’s particularly evident in the world of visual technology.
Companies around the globe are investing in new ways to facilitate connections and networks while keeping their users as safe as possible. From online learning to remote technical support, people are learning how to overcome and adapt to the constraints of lockdown regulations, social distancing, and working from home.
By implementing augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) systems, industries can completely revolutionize how they operate. The market value of AR and VR systems is set to reach a staggering $97 billion by 2025, which means this is definitely a development your brand should be following.
What Are AR and VR?
While both are visual technologies that change the way we view and interact with the physical world, there are some key differences between the two. AR augments your reality by layering digital elements or images over your real-world view (think Snapchat lenses). VR systems, however, create an entirely immersive experience.
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Both of these systems make use of technologies like headsets or glasses, digital projections or smartphone screens.
Below are some of the larger-scale industry predictions for AR and VR that our own agency is taking into consideration or already implementing into our clients’ businesses.
AR and VR allow us to track eye movement and engagement.
New AR and VR solutions will be able to track and monitor facial expressions, gestures and eye movements while users enjoy the tech. These products can be used in a variety of ways, of which the most creative would be to realistically recreate the facial expressions of a user in mixed realities like Apple’s Animoji.
Other use cases might include tracking for privacy and security; for productivity and well-being (e.g., tracking eye movements of remote students or seniors); and for power and performance (e.g., checking employees’ attention during a meeting).
Some of these technologies — ones that offer an intuitive way of controlling a computer via eye-tracking — are also a great option for website accessibility. These options can help people with speech and language disabilities to type with their eyes and have the text read aloud in a synthetic voice.
Shopping and retail are using AR to change customer shopping experiences.
AR is by no means a new innovation in the retail world. Many brands are using smartphone-based AR systems to provide their shoppers with more information about the origins, specifications and costs of their products.
For example, Ikea Place, the furniture retailer’s app, allows users to virtually place products into their space to see how everything might look once assembled before purchasing. Another popular brand that’s implemented AR in its mobile app is Sephora. Its Virtual Artist feature allows consumers to check how certain beauty products might look on their own faces. This was an especially great solution during lockdown when all stores were closed.
Where Physical and Digital Worlds Collide
More and more companies are trying to find more sustainable, affordable and simple ways to adopt these digital innovations to stay relevant in a soon-to-be post-pandemic world. Will yours be one of them?
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Author: Oganes Vagramovich Barsegyan, Forbes Councils Member
