A few years ago, several companies in India started using small, curious-looking boxes with a cryptic black-and-white image in their print ads. Also given alongside was text urging the reader to scan this smudgy thing (the QR or Quick Response code) with their mobiles and experience what the advertisers had to offer in full audio-visual glory.
Such ideas may not have succeeded to the extent people wanted, but they ushered in new possibilities in marketing to the pros, who are increasingly challenged by multiple products jousting for consumers’ ever-shortening attention spans. QR codes formed but one part of the bigger picture that is emerging: of the world of augmented reality (AR).
AR works by superimposing information on real-world objects to give us, so to say, an augmented or enhanced view of the world around us.
There are multiple experiments and product launches going on in the tech world that aim at bringing AR further into the mainstream. Some of the most prominent ones in recent times include Layar apps and software, Nokia’s City Lens app for Windows Phone Store and Google’s Glass eyewear.
And if you think AR is still too far off on the horizon for Indian companies and consumers, think again. Nokia was aggressively running ads for its Lumia phones loaded with City Lens, which allows users to point their camera in any direction and get instant information about nearby restaurants, shopping centers, etc. And already, there are specialist firms (such as Gurgaon-based Gamooz) that help you take your AR intentions to, well, reality.
By using special displays or the geo-location capabilities and motion sensors embedded in several of today’s smartphones, tablets and other devices, AR applications now make it possible for companies to differentiate product launches or make a more engaging connect with consumers.
Being still new and in evolution, the tech is not cheap. But as more vendors and service providers enter the fray, prices are bound to come down. Another positive sign is market expansion: analysts predict the AR market to grow to sizes that are no longer laughable but respectable. According to an estimate by Juniper Research, the global market for mobile AR applications will reach $300 million in 2013; by 2017, over 2.5 billion AR apps will be downloaded to smartphones and tablets.
Given the fast growth of these devices in India, it would be a matter of time before AR catches on with consumers here. With enterprises though, the reality is hard to guess, if not augment.
– Sanjay Gupta
Editor, Express Computer