The Augmented Reality revolution has reached a new point, with enterprise adoption overshadowing the consumer world. Market leaders have started directing their focus from niche offerings to strategies that are anchored in prototypes designed for industrialization. Augmented reality has prevailed multi-domains such as gaming, media, marketing or even traveling. In short, this technology offers ample opportunities for new or existing business in the current era. Some facts: According to , Augmented Reality is expected to be acquiring close to 1 billion users by the end of the year 2020. The global shipment of smart AR glasses is expected to reach 5.4 million units by 2020. The global AR market is also expected to grow to 90 billion USD by 2020. Statista In the next few decades, advances in augmented reality/virtual reality, and immersive technologies will lead to more intuitive ways for technology to better our lives. In the future, our means of interfacing with digital information will no longer be hardware or screens, but more emotions and gestures. A lot of companies have now shifted their focus from experimenting with AR/VR devices to setting up mission-critical applications in the enterprise. Consumer-oriented investments in entertainment continue, however increasingly the real action is taking place at the workplace. Augmented reality is making impactful changes in the operational departments of many industries, here are 6 ways how AR can change the way businesses function. Access to 24/7 information With AR technologies, retrieving information from anywhere at any given point of time is possible. These technologies are so advanced that they enable users to swiftly travel into the past from anywhere just by using some immersive device. It can completely enhance an individual’s perception of reality, with the ability to modify data, change views and other elements of sight and sound. Replacement of User Manuals with Real-Time Instructions The product manuals will very soon be a thing of the past with AR coming into the picture. Paper manuals required the right graphic illustrations along with the right interpretation of words. The smartphone-enabled AR programs will be able to easily recognize overlay text or video instructions. AR glasses will provide the best experience of this, allowing for hands-free, real-time instruction viewing in line with the user action. Augmented Reality will transform management in every industry AR is all set to completely revolutionize the way supervisors carry out their tasks in any industry. For instance, just imagine supervisors walking on the floor with a fighter pilot style display right in front of their eyes. Imagine how efficient they will be when they can quickly read performance data to assist employees with complex issues or even identify employees that are falling behind. With the help of AR, the supervisors will not only be able to detect problems in real time, but also have a clarity on where they have to devote their time and effort in order to get the best outcome. In short, AR will equip supervisors with analytical and observational superpowers. AR’s Potential in Transforming the Payment Process in Retail As AR technology crosses the threshold from innovation to maturation, it will totally shake up customer experience and the retail industry as we know it. AR enables a wider range of payment authenticators that can be used in regular rotation to mislead fraudsters. An end user anticipating a retina scan to confirm identity or payment validity, for example, might be asked to provide a hand motion or voiceprint instead. This interesting concept of adaptive authentication is best suited for high-risk transactions when an anomaly might be detected. In this age of consumerism where the merchants face an increasing demand for enhanced experiences, a strong 2-factor authentication will be the norm. All the private data that is transferred using this technology can be effectively protected with several existing transaction controls such as tokenization or 3D secure. AR will Transform Product Design and Manufacturing The president of MyStemKits, Laron Walker, believes that AR will transform engineering and product design. The days of developing products in silos, the prolonged feedback cycles or the costly prototype manufacturing no more exist. AR will allow 3D modeling software for extending their design surface from the PC to the real world. Modelers will change their designs in real time, while also engaging stakeholders for feedback instantly. The designs will be perfect with regard to the functionality and form before it is packaged for 3D printing or other forms of manufacturing. This will thereby result in a lesser cost of manufacturing and also the time to market will decrease. The role of AR in healthcare Some years ago, the IoT made a buzz with its role in transforming the . Now AR is also finding its way into the healthcare sector. healthcare sector AR, for instance, can be used to improve the way surgeries are carried out at present. It is not an unheard fact that precision is of the crucial factors when a surgery is carried out. The fact is, it can determine the success/failure of an intervention. In order to make surgeons more precise, 3D visualizations can be made use of to display organs from various angles in real-time. Conclusion The augmented reality tools or apps are mainly designed with an aim of eliminating user pain points and create a personalized customer experience. The successful AR implementation into a business model can also seriously impact the way the consumers see the stores of the future. The insane popularity of certain game apps such as Pokemon Go conveys that a lot of users are ready to embrace this technology and are eagerly looking forward to using AR-enabled devices. One thing that is definitely clear is a fact that we are going to see a rise in the adoption of AR applications in various industries such as real estate, fashion, the automotive and retail market in the near future.
