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From virtual tours to navigation, from onboarding to enhancing workflows, augmented reality might soon drastically change the way we work and do business

Augmented Reality (AR) brought a revolution in the gaming and entertainment industry, but it does not end there. Pokémon Go is an apt example — it took the world by storm in absolutely no time. People went crazy about its innovative approach, and it registered millions of downloads in a couple of weeks’ time.

AR allows you to interact with the virtual world in the most innovative and organic way possible. It merges both real and virtual worlds through 3D overlays and virtual objects. With today’s rendering technologies, you might even find it difficult to know it’s not real.

AR has long been the purview of the gaming and entertainment industry. Mobile app development companies are craftily blending AR technology into their apps, enabling users to transform the way they interact with their applications.

AR can also help shopping, travel and industry businesses grow. Innovative approaches, combined with unique business models, can certainly create magic. There is no denying the fact that AR is distinctive, fresh and innovative, and it will leverage the growth in creativity and technological advances in the coming years.

Entrepreneurs are also leveraging AR in revamping their workflows. Whether it’s a team meet-up, product promotion, product catalog demonstration or even during sales calls, it won’t  be long before it will be a common practice for business owners to engage AR in their day-to-day work.

The following are some of the ways businesses can use augmented reality to their advantage.

Navigation and routing

For a product based businesses that require constant transportation of goods from point A to point B, it’s quite difficult for drivers to find paths with better traffic flow. For new drivers, it is even more difficult to head towards a destination he’s unaware of. It causes a real pain for a business owner when goods aren’t delivered to destination on time.

Also Read: How companies can learn from Pokémon Go to engage employees

But not anymore — businesses have started implementing AR navigation technique in their cars as HUD (heads-up display). which allows drivers to navigate to the desired location via tablets or smartphones or even AR-enabled wearable devices. They can deliver products in time with less effort in finding desired places. HUD technology is still not everyone’s cup of tea for now, but we can soon expect it to be available for common consumers as well.

Virtual tours

Businesses like real estate, art galleries, and historical museums, can take full advantage of augmented reality by taking on consumers to virtual tours of their products, whether it’s a house, a flat or a renovation scheme. The graphic overlays and 3D objects will definitely give a perfect feel to the viewers.

For museums, it can be implemented more vigorously for art lovers, who can delve in deep to explore information about particular artifacts or artworks.

Virtual showrooms

Businesses trading online are trying every bit of innovation to grant their users an in-person experience. But the highest level they can go until now is the 360-tour. These do the job, but only to a certain extent. To bridge this gap, we can implement augmented reality, wherein a consumer can not only have a closer look at the products but can be assisted by a virtual salesperson for product’s features, characteristics and more.

Also Read: 2 industries that can repeat Pokemon Go’s augmented reality success

It would certainly take the world of exploration to a new level for the consumers, plus granting a chance to the owners to promote their products personally.

Employee training and onboarding

AR can help in converting normal classroom training into a modern interactive affair, even without requiring everyone to be physically present in the training room. Employees can be trained in a more effective manner on a particular task or project with the help of on-screen step-by-step instructions and layered graphics. The training sessions would be fun, interactive and more engaging than before.

Project prototyping

Physical prototyping can be an expensive affair, as it involves various iterations prior to the final marketable version is ready. But, it is important to present a fully functional version of the product to the investors to impress them. This is where a world of virtual reality comes into play.

Project owners can get ready their product virtually, which can be presented to the investors. They can then demonstrate its features and discuss how worthy it is to invest in this project. Plus, you as a creator can rectify issues, bugs or errors (if any) before you finally head towards physical prototyping phase.

Experts are eyeing to implement augmented reality in various business models that can transform the usual processing and tasks can be carried out in much easier and relaxed way than traditional means.

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