Not too long ago we kept hearing about how Virtual Reality (VR) Apps were going to change the world. But barring a few notable exceptions, for instance Uber and Snapchat, the majority were failures.
Now with with tools like Apple’s ARKit and Google’s ARCore, new Augmented Reality (AR) apps are more likely to attract consumers who only need their phone to use them instead of add on devices.
Ikea was one of the first companies to use mobile AR with Ikea Place. With the app you can walk up to the item, get a sense of its size, see materials and texture, and in a future version of the app, you’ll even be able to tap on a virtual sofa to see how big it is when it expands to become a sofa bed.
This could be valuable to someone who likes to decorate their home with Ikea and does not live near a store to actually try out the furniture.
For the Kitchen
Space150 has developed Cambria AR, an app that allows customers to sample Cambria’s various surface designs for their homes, restaurants or bars.
The ARKit technology maps surfaces such as kitchen counters, islands or table tops and then overlays designs on them, providing an image of what the surface would look like.
“As the leader in stone surfaces, Cambria is adopting and bringing remarkable technology to market in a very simple but powerful app and design tool set. There’s no better way to see Cambria’s stunning designs than in your very own kitchen.”
Using the App
To use the app, users use their iPhone or iPad outline their countertop, island, etc. to see virtual Cambria designs. Once the surface is mapped, the app automatically displays a new virtual surface. Users can choose from multiple design styles and swap back-and-forth to see how the design will look.
The gold dots indicate the area you are scanning. The more gold dots you see, the better your placement of the Cambria surface.
Desktop Tool
If you don’t have an Apple device, you can use Cambia’s DragonVision Tool to compare stone finishes side by side.
With DragonVision you can choose from 50+ finishes with a hue slider, mix and match finishes for the kitchen perimeter and island and play with edge profiles. If you are contemplating a whole kitchen remodel, DragonVision will also let you paint your cabinets.
Of course this cellphone app and other to come won’t be immune from issues that already plague advanced AR platforms – the drain on battery life, the push to upsale and the overall feeling that you’re sometimes using an AR app not because it makes sense but just because it’s simply new.