AUGMENTED REALITY (AR) IN ACTION! THE MOST INTERESTING PROJECTS OF THE PAST 2018.

An increasing number of companies are using augmented reality to establish their economic positions in the real world, in completely different areas of the economy. AR technologies are rapidly expanding into new markets, from retail to healthcare.

You can't call it fun for fun anymore. The development and integration of AR applications allows businesses to use the marketing budget much more effectively. The development of the technical capabilities of electronic devices and their increasing speed has made augmented reality accessible to a wide audience, and now the visibility, spectacular visual techniques and viral potential of AR applications can increase the return on investment in brand development not by a percentage, but by a multiple.

But let's look at the most unexpected exama that created not just a wow-effect and a General, albeit mass," excitement " of the ether, but really brought benefits, found application in solving everyday issues of everyday life and comfort, in education, social work and security. Thanks to the introduction of augmented reality, when solving business problems, consumer loyalty to the brand and product has increased, contact time with the product has increased, efficiency has increased during briefings and training, and after interacting with augmented reality, customers are ready to pay more for a product with AR.

Retail: Lowe's chain of construction stores

Lowe's is among the top 10 innovative companies in the United States in 2018. The company sells household goods that facilitate the solution of everyday issues to its existing regular customers, and offers them to potential customers. First of all, the company was focused on solving one fairly neglected problem: the network, every year, lost about $ 70 billion due to the fact that potential customers could not decide and choose the moment to start home improvement. Clients feel a clear need for an emotional catalyst, because they simply can't imagine what kind of result they are waiting for.

With the advent and spread of spectacular augmented reality applications, and the increasing popularization of augmented reality technologies, the company immediately began developing an AR-based project that was designed to solve this problem. Give consumers a picture, a vision of the future that will bring their activity and more decisive actions for improvement and improvement of comfort in everyday life.

The project “Holoroom How to AR” was released, which allows clients to learn basic skills of independent work in the conditions of immersion in AR/VR space. With the help of ”Holoroom How to AR", as well as the VR controller, customers received appropriate instructions and the opportunity to learn some finishing work, and most importantly-to see the real result. The company's research has shown that people remember 40% more information after completing AR training. 9 out of 10 clients said that after AR training, they became more confident in their skills in the real world.

The company did not stop there and released its own application based on augmented reality technology, which allows you to turn any smartphone into a virtual roulette for measuring the distance or size of an object. Also, this application generates three-dimensional models of the company's products to visualize the type of potential purchase, directly at the home of a potential buyer.

The company's research showed that customers who used AR to visualize the company's products bought the product 2 times more often than those who did not.

Real estate: JJL'S 3D portfolio

Jones Lang La Salle provides real estate brokerage services, as well as management, consulting and financing in these matters. At the disposal of JJL’S nearly 300 corporate offices, operates in 80 countries around the world. The heads of the company came to a firm decision to use augmented reality for 3D visualization of real estate objects at a scale of 1: 1.

This solution allows for individual customization of the finish. In simple terms, using the augmented reality app from JJL'S, potential customers can not only get to know objects ”live", but also pre-change the interior and decoration of the room. For example: wallpapers, blinds, furniture, windows, etc. The company's Goal is to create the world's largest real estate portfolio, accompanied by AR support.

Health. London National College of surgery at hospital of St. Mary's Magdalen?

The London National College of surgery at hospital of St. Mary's Magdalen is one of the first medical institutions to use augmented reality for healthcare purposes in an effort to help surgeons improve their performance. The consultants demonstrated how surgeons can use AR for operations on patients who have undergone reconstructive operations on the lower extremities. This was made possible by augmented reality, when interacting with a hologram of a real part of the body. Augmented reality technology overlays it with a CT scan image that indicates the location of the body's bones and blood vessels.

When patients suffer tissue damage or have open wounds resulting from a car accident or other injury, surgeons are tasked with performing reconstruction. They, using flaps of tissue (including skin and blood vessels) taken from other parts of the patient's body, are able to cover the wound, create conditions for healing the injury. It is extremely important to connect the blood vessels of the transplanted tissue with the blood vessels in the damaged area. The traditional approach is to use a hand-held ultrasound scanner to determine the location of blood vessels based on blood pulsation, but this approach only allows you to determine the approximate location. Augmented reality provides a more accurate and faster way to search for blood vessels, allowing surgeons to essentially see through a limb. According to the results of the study, the use of augmented reality technologies can reduce the time that a patient spends under anesthesia, reduce the likelihood of error or eliminate it.

Pharmaceuticals: C4X Discovery molecule visualizer

Founded at the University of Manchester, C4XD is one of the largest companies in the world that specializes in drug research and development. At the core of the advanced innovative technologies that C4XD uses is augmented reality.

Traditionally, drug manufacturers have worked with static models. But, in early 2018, the company started using its own AR (augmented reality) tool to help scientists imagine the structure of complex molecules, from the inside out.

Augmented reality allows scientists to go inside the molecule, see how it functions and reacts to stimuli.

C4XD pharmaceutical chemist Andrew Novak couldn't hide his delight: "Augmented reality brought a stunning effect to my vision - suddenly, molecules became part of my world, and I was able to manipulate them in space, at arm's length…".

According to the company, the use of augmented reality technologies will reduce the number of errors and significantly reduce the multi-year cycle of drug development. This will allow C4XD specialists to develop and discover new medicines and medical products faster and more accurately.