6 industries that AR is about to transform

Maria Stenina
A global pandemic is remarkable in many ways. Locked in our homes, we embraced new ways of connecting with the world and figured that remote work could be as coherent as in the office. Suddenly cut in physical resources, the business verticals had to find alternatives to ensure that processes run as effectively as pre-pandemic. In this blog, we identify six industries that are poised for a complete transformation through augmented reality. 

Remote work and collaboration

AR improves knowledge transfer and helps close the workforce skills gap in many industries. This technology allows over-the-shoulder mentoring for team members and apprentices that can seriously impact remote workers and help workplaces scale their access to information anytime, anywhere.

While the information density and cognitive workload for employees increase, AR helps to grasp loads of information easier and enables new mediums for information exchange. Compared to conventional collaboration methods, augmented reality ensures better workflow by reducing communication efforts across teams and organizations.

Education

This year marked a breakthrough for augmented reality in education, accelerating its transition to a technology that the public can’t seem to get enough of.

With students of all ages across the globe making a sudden shift into distance learning, AR proved to be a reliable partner in bringing to life a wide array of subjects. The ask for digital tools to be easily added to the existing curriculum and keep students engaged perfectly falls into the augmented reality field of expertise.

The use cases span from providing 3D visualizations to otherwise static books and printed materials to creating scalable digital twins of human organs.

Video source: Virtuali-Tee

It will be safe to say that the next decade will mark a wider adoption of AR in education, from school to higher education and corporate formation. 

Companies already leveraging AR for workforce learning notice a significant reduction in training time and improved quality.

Another benefit of AR is the ability to create a sense of physical presence and immersive digital experiences. This gives augmented content for education and training a unique ability to harness people’s attention, even in our age of shortening attention span.

Toys and games

This year showed more toy manufacturers tapping into the AR potential to bridge physical and digital play.

Augmented play is well-received by both parents and children of different age categories. This acceptance means we’ll see established toy brands and startups using augmented elements to boost engagement and increase dwell time.

With target audiences now mainly consisting of digital natives, Gen-Zs, and millennials, the demand for tech elements and AR in the toy industry will only grow.  

Augmented Reality Demo: Object Tracking

Advanced features such as Object and Image Tracking can revamp the classic game formats as we know them. Remember that battered Monopoly game that your family has been playing on and off for more than a decade? Now, imagine adding a digital layer to it to add a compelling twist that brings generations together.

Toy makers can achieve twice as much retention for the same price by investing in added augmented features.

The technology leverages game experiences for the card and board games and helps seamlessly surpass players’ expectations. Added narrative and gameplay experiences help alleviate the parental fear of increased screen time, turning augmented toys into a new means of socializing and exploring the world. 

Read success stories of toy companies using the Wikitude SDK:

Logistics and warehousing

The ubiquity of AR usage can help transport and logistic companies operate efficiently, regardless of restrictions pandemics or other external factors might impose. Equipped with AR functionality, warehouse employees scan the orders and see digital prompts that offer the best route to the precise storage location.

Digital instruction overlay comes as a bonus to the classic navigation feature, making the technology invaluable in boosting productivity and quality control.

With the advancement of smart glasses technology, we could expect their wide use in the logistics and warehousing industry. The expanded functionality of integrated AR solutions will allow combining the value of handheld devices, QR scanners, barcode reading, and printed documentation with real-time interactions.

Architecture and construction

Catalyzed by COVID-19, digital twins and immersive augmented experiences have opened the gateway for organizations to connect the teams and field workers remotely and enhance collaboration.

AR enables remote collaboration with stable two-way video and audio annotations that any team member can access on-site and in the office. Such technological advancements leave traditional ways of cooperation far behind and accelerate the adoption rate by construction companies and the open public.

Imagine a construction company using an app to add a detailed view of the future building for the local community to inform and provide a communication and feedback channel.

The same channel could be used in-house for cross-team collaboration in real-time.

Scene Tracking is a breakthrough AR feature that the construction and architecture sector will rely on increasingly. Spanning from spatial computing, this AR feature is used to track pre-determined environments and large-scale objects. Scene Tracking uses reference points and features in the chosen scene or area, making augmented reality content reachable on a wide variety of phones, tablets, and AR smartglasses.

Get the full picture: Scene Recognition and Tracking how-to

Retail and e-commerce

Restrictions of physical gatherings, canceled events, and closed showrooms seem like a major hurdle for the buyers to enjoy the shopping sprees. But not anymore – augmented reality is rapidly winning the hearts (and smartphones) of a global audience, allowing you to test and try any item virtually in the comfort of your home.

What other industries do you believe AR will transform this year? Let us know via social media using the hashtag #wikitude


Interested in creating an AR project of your own? Talk to our specialists.

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