Top Benefits of Augmented Reality: Why You Should Consider Implementing It

Nowadays, executives get a giant variety of cutting-edge technologies that can leverage to grow their companies. Artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, robotics — the list may go on and on, revealing new opportunities for businesses in different fields. 

As our society invents and adapts to more and more innovations, consumers become more and more tech-savvy and demanding, and the higher their expectations get. At the same time, businesses also don’t stay put in one place and explore new approaches and solutions to get competitive advantages and stand out within a saturated business climate. 

In such conditions, augmented reality gains extra value, especially for businesses looking for tools to provide more immersive experiences to their clients than before or for those companies that sell large, hard-to-explain products and need to have strong visualization capacities. 

So, what is the value hidden behind the concept of augmented reality, and is it really worth investing money into AR development? Let’s figure the benefits of augmented reality out together in the blog article built on the experience of TechRivo and our AR specialists.

What is Augmented Reality?

Augmented reality is a technology that implies the convergence between virtual content and the real world: it overlays visual, audio, and other types of content in the real environment. The perfect example of augmented reality a PokémonGo, a mobile game that made much noise in 2016, which allowed its users to see and interact with virtual Pokémons in a real-life setting.  

To access AR, users need hardware with sensors and input devices. A regular smartphone matches this description and might be enough, but there are some more profound examples of devices (special headsets, eyeglasses, etc.) that were designed to provide an even more diverse and exciting experience for user engagement. 

It is also worth mentioning that augmented reality is not the same concept as virtual reality, though they are often mentioned together. Virtual reality allows users to immerse themselves fully into another digital dimension which isn’t connected with the physical world at all, while augmented reality offers additions to the real environment, changing the person’s perception. 

How Can Businesses Use Augmented Reality?

As you can guess, an ordinary user will associate an average AR app with the gaming or entertainment sectors. But what are the AR capabilities for business environments and enterprise needs and demands? Do the benefits of augmented reality really have the value we describe?

Truth be told, AR offers a lot to various industries; the question is if your company is technically mature enough to see the benefits of augmented reality and extract real value from them.

For example, retailers get a chance to enrich the customer experience they provide by offering their clients to contemplate and try their products before they make a purchase. Imagine how it will boost user engagement when they would be able to try the jeans they really like without leaving home or waiting for their package to be delivered, or if they would be able to overlay the new wallpaper in their room to plan their renovation. 

This feature will not only attract people who want to test your products or services without going to your physical office or shop but also give you an advantage over your competitors who might not offer a similar user engagement experience as you.

Augmented reality can also enhance your operational efficiency. For example, it might be a great tool for collaborative work on prototypes: instead of spending type on making physical objects, you can simply use a virtual model your crew will access through augmented reality. 

This way, you will be able to study your prototype in detail and interact with and test it as you want. Basically, you will gain the same benefits you will get from virtual reality but stay present in the physical world, which might be a must when working in teams in the same location.

AR applications are also valuable for training purposes. Whether you are in the manufacturing or the healthcare industry, augmented reality gives you 3D models of physical objects you can access any time you want and interact the way you need without any additional risks or expenses. 

The list of AR use cases can go on and on. The technology is universal, and the potential is huge, so you are only limited with your creativity on how to access augmented reality advantages.