Applications of AR

Various trends and applications are emerging and developing through leveraging mobile AR capabilities across different fields such as healthcare, marketing, and even the military. Some of these applications are shortly explained below. Generally speaking, these applications have proven to be positive and to do the human race a great service.

 


In 2022, AR navigation has become more fluid and achievable than ever before. Most importantly, the rise of technologies like Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) antennas, Wi-Fi RTT and ultra wideband (UWB) make indoor navigation much more viable than in previous years. One of the most useful applications of this technology is for displaying AR directions in large indoor locations like distribution centers, shopping malls, and airports. 


2. The Military


The United States Army is giving soldiers improved situational awareness with the use of AR technology. The tech, called “Tactical Augmented Reality” (TAR), is essentially an eyepiece that helps soldiers precisely locate their positions as well as the locations of others—both friend and foe. TAR will one day replace night-vision goggles, as it enables soldiers to see in the dark. It will also replace the handheld GPS system that soldiers carry today to approximate their positions. The eyepiece is connected wirelessly to a tablet that soldiers wear on their waists, plus it’s wirelessly connected to a thermal site mounted on their rifles or carbines. Here’s the cool part: If a soldier is pointing his or her weapon, the image of the target, plus other details such as the distance to target, can be seen through the eyepiece.


3. Healthcare


According to Deloitte Research, augmented reality and AI will transform the traditional healthcare business model by offering AR/MR-enabled hands-free solutions and IA-based diagnostic tools. For example, Microsoft Hololens 2 can provide information to the surgeon while allowing them to use both of their hands during the procedure. 

Moreover, AR is already used in education for patients and doctors and simulations for surgeries and diseases to enhance patient treatments. For example, AccuVein uses projection-based AR, which scans a patient's body and shows doctors the exact location of veins. This improves the injection of the vein on the first stick by 3.5 times and reduces the need to call for assistance by 45%.


4. Marketing and Shopping 


From Nike, to L’Oreal, to Pepsi, to IKEA, and even Kinder Surprise, one major and impressively successful application of AR is marketing and shopping experiences. “We know that serving AR experiences in different ways is key for customers as they become more engaged with different platforms and the digital world overall,” says Christine Whitehawk, IKEA U.S.’s marketing communications manager. “AR is a terrific way to give consumers an almost ‘real’ impression of what furniture will look like in their home—and considering how much time people spend in their home—they want to ensure it is just right.”


One AR-powered shopping experience on the Snapchat app lets users customize and virtually try on a pair of Nike Air Force 1s. Sponsored by the brand, the filter prompts you to toggle through and change the color (choose between shades like Magic Flamingo, Blue Void and Honeycomb) and texture (smooth or ripple leather) of 13 different parts of the sneakers before hitting the “try on” button to see a digital 360-degree overlay of what they would look like on your feet. If you like what you see, you can click “shop now” to immediately purchase the pair you’ve designed.


Integrating AR shopping directly into social media platforms is a savvy business move that’s made Nike stand out in the surging social commerce market, says Ying Zhu, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Management at the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus whose research focuses on digital marketing, branding, consumer behavior, business analytics, and social networks. “Brands like Nike are likely to engage their younger target audience through social media and AR apps,” she says. But that’s a topic for another day.