4 ms·

It's a fun tech, but I fail to see any real world value that can be derived from it. I have worked on AR stuff before and found some niche uses, but I am having

It's a fun tech, but I fail to see any real world value that can be derived from it. I have worked on AR stuff before and found some niche uses, but I am having real trouble finding general commercial applications apart from fun and games.

paulvorobyev 7y ago
There are tons of applications! The thesis behind AR is that your phone (or some other device) can be a passport to accessing a digital world around you. Some ideas, in no particular order: * Tourism of any kind (think AR museum or city tours) * Location and event discovery -- as of late there have been quite a few startups trying to capitalize on giving people things to do, but none successful. This is definitely on Snap's radar with their acquisition of Vurb[1] and Placed[2] * Interactive public art -- Paris has something like this[3] and I really want to see these types of ARGs spread to other cities * E-commerce -- superimposing clothing or furniture[4] onto the real world Also, why are fun and games not valid applications? Epic Games, for example, is worth 4.5bn. Interactive media is finally being recognized by the mainstream, and it's just getting started :) [1] https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/vurb https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/vurb [2] https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/placed https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/placed [3] https://apps.apple.com/us/app/flashinvaders/id895180919 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/flashinvaders/id895180919 [4] https://www.amazon.com/adlp/arview https://www.amazon.com/adlp/arview
- throwaway40324 7y ago
  Yep, for tourism. Look at some of the examples this small company is/has worked on: gamifi.co
jiveturkey 7y ago
define "niche". the construction industry will benefit hugely from AR.
- windsurfer 7y ago
  I worked on an art installation that used AR cardboard cards as the "controllers" in a 50+ person platformer game. I also worked on a smaller business card AR project.
idoom 7y ago
I recommend this article from HBR https://hbr.org/2017/11/a-managers-guide-to-augmented-reality https://hbr.org/2017/11/a-managers-guide-to-augmented-realit... It actually details how it’s used now to verify ships after construction to ensure that everything is in its right place. They do this by overlaying the schematics on top of the actual ship during inspection. I don’t remember the numbers (read the article a while ago) but the savings and accuracy gains by introducing this were significant.
robotresearcher 7y ago
Lots of businesses make billions in fun and games.
Geee 7y ago
AR will replace every display in the world. There's nothing special about it, it's just a better form-factor. You would probably use the same kind of applications, but you'll be able to have 1000 windows open at the same time, located all around your room, easily accessible (just turn your head). All those gimmicky 'AR applications' are gimmicks. The real use case is replacing our tiny displays.
rhlsthrm 7y ago
Imagine your entire workstation as a full AR display that can be any size you want on your desk. AR is literally real life holograms, there's amazing amounts of applications. Everything you do on your smartphone today can be blown up into AR applications.

paulvorobyev 7y ago

There are tons of applications! The thesis behind AR is that your phone (or some other device) can be a passport to accessing a digital world around you. Some ideas, in no particular order: * Tourism of any kind (think AR museum or city tours) * Location and event discovery -- as of late there have been quite a few startups trying to capitalize on giving people things to do, but none successful. This is definitely on Snap's radar with their acquisition of Vurb[1] and Placed[2] * Interactive public art -- Paris has something like this[3] and I really want to see these types of ARGs spread to other cities * E-commerce -- superimposing clothing or furniture[4] onto the real world Also, why are fun and games not valid applications? Epic Games, for example, is worth 4.5bn. Interactive media is finally being recognized by the mainstream, and it's just getting started :) [1] https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/vurb https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/vurb [2] https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/placed https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/placed [3] https://apps.apple.com/us/app/flashinvaders/id895180919 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/flashinvaders/id895180919 [4] https://www.amazon.com/adlp/arview https://www.amazon.com/adlp/arview

throwaway40324 7y ago
Yep, for tourism. Look at some of the examples this small company is/has worked on: gamifi.co

jiveturkey 7y ago

define "niche". the construction industry will benefit hugely from AR.

windsurfer 7y ago
I worked on an art installation that used AR cardboard cards as the "controllers" in a 50+ person platformer game. I also worked on a smaller business card AR project.

idoom 7y ago

I recommend this article from HBR https://hbr.org/2017/11/a-managers-guide-to-augmented-reality https://hbr.org/2017/11/a-managers-guide-to-augmented-realit... It actually details how it’s used now to verify ships after construction to ensure that everything is in its right place. They do this by overlaying the schematics on top of the actual ship during inspection. I don’t remember the numbers (read the article a while ago) but the savings and accuracy gains by introducing this were significant.

robotresearcher 7y ago

Lots of businesses make billions in fun and games.

Geee 7y ago

AR will replace every display in the world. There's nothing special about it, it's just a better form-factor. You would probably use the same kind of applications, but you'll be able to have 1000 windows open at the same time, located all around your room, easily accessible (just turn your head). All those gimmicky 'AR applications' are gimmicks. The real use case is replacing our tiny displays.

rhlsthrm 7y ago

Imagine your entire workstation as a full AR display that can be any size you want on your desk. AR is literally real life holograms, there's amazing amounts of applications. Everything you do on your smartphone today can be blown up into AR applications.