Augmented reality and virtual reality to present the project in 3D

Whether you are a real estate developer, designer, architect, marketing specialist, or brand manager, the presentation of the project in 3D is something that might help you to attain your business goals. In this article, we are going to figure out some new visualization techniques, which could help you catch the eye of your potential client, sell more goods, and bring more value to your business activity.

Augmented reality (AR) VS Virtual Reality (VR)

In simple words, reality becomes augmented when we add any objects and details to the real-time or existing environment. You can add sunglasses, a new car, or even an animal to the environment. To add some virtual elements into the real world, we will need just the phone, computer or tablet, special glasses, or helmet. Imagine yourself in a room without any furniture, or pictures, just with the walls surrounding you. And now, imagine you direct the phone camera to the wall and see, furniture, flowers, curtains, and at the end the whole design. This is how AR works: through the camera, two different realities are overlapping- the real world and the virtual one. Here are the elements which ensure the AR works: device, display, camera, markers, and AR software. The last element is the core, as it binds everything together. The camera delivers the picture to the software, which in turn finds the marker and shows the picture or object, which is attached to that marker. Then, the system identifies the exact 3D model that should be shown, and we can see some additional objects on the screen. Very close to AR is virtual reality. In comparison to AR, virtual reality is absolutely “virtual”, there is no real world there. This is some kind of illusion that the user dives fully into. To make it happen, there are special glasses or helmets, which make the user isolated from the real environment and help to be present in the virtual. The working mechanism of VR equipment is a bit different from AR. The display in front of the eyes projects video in 3D. Sticked to the body, a special sensor catches the head movements and brings data to a dedicated system, which changes the image on the display depending on the signals of the sensors. Thanks to that, it is possible to have a 360 degrees view inside virtual reality and feel as if in the real world.

AR and VR as powerful tools for presenting your product, architecture, and design

Nowadays, both solutions are mostly associated with the gaming industry. However, other industries are finding it useful too. The work in architecture, design, or product production brings everyone to the same inquiry – “How to exalt a project to the peak of interest and surprise potential customers?”AR and VR for architecture

While usual 3D models are very useful for rendering purposes, they do not give the same effect as virtual and augmented reality in architecture. With them, it is easy to solve potential issues such as:

-Explore the location of future construction;
-More accurate selection of volumetric-spatial solutions;
-Check the compatibility of various designs, and architectural solutions;
-Evaluate the interior and its individual elements.

But the most important thing is still an opportunity for potential buyers and tenants to see what they will get in the end and whether this option suits them. This is a key decision when selling real estate while still under construction, or if a potential buyer is far away, but wants to see what he is buying, saving time. He can fully assess the object from home. Sometimes clients of construction companies can be involved in design and construction too. Frequently during the process, they change their preferences, which is why the result may turn out to be unpredictable, containing poorly combined ideas. And such misunderstandings often provoke conflicts between the customer and the contractor. Both AR and VR in architecture allow you to consider in detail how a particular solution will look in combination with the rest of the project components. An architect, for example, will be able to visually show and explain that a particular decision is wrong, and when the client is convinced of this visually, it will greatly save time for both sides. Any ideas, corrections, and comments on the project can be visualized and examined in detail, getting rid of a lot of difficult, unpleasant working moments.AR and VR for interior design

In addition to the standard design project, AR and VR solutions can be added, which makes it more exclusive. You can walk through the future rooms, evaluate the convenience of the furniture location (estimate the distance from the bed to the wall, for example), and even check the view from the window. Those tools give broad information– any detail of the future interior can be viewed from all sides. You can easily move from room to room, and go up and down the floors. Emotionality is also one of the aspects (it is much more comfortable for a person to “visit” a room than to look at its drawing). Also, this experience can be reinforced with voice or music.

Augmented and virtual reality for products

The development of a product and creating its design is a multiple-stage process in which many people take part. From scientists to engineers and designers, everyone invests time and effort in it, which sometimes rapidly increases the costs of the entire process. One mistake can cost a lot of money. Here the AR and VR come for help. Usually, it is used by large companies which produce complex equipment, numerous products, and furniture, but also everyone who just wants to save resources and establish the process step by step from the beginning. First, augmented and virtual realities work in a similar way in the case of products: help to place the product in the (non) existing design/ room. Imagine you stand in your room and don’t really know how the furniture you want will fit there. Will the color you want be good? Will it match the other furniture? By scanning your room with an AR application (you just need the camera and phone) you can place the furniture in any place to see if it l fits, and change its position and place. 3D models for AR or VR must look absolutely realistic, showing the high-quality of fabrics and details. You can also rotate the furniture to see every angle. There are some other ways besides that, where AR and VR are great tools. For instance, product development. It is not necessary to have a physical prototype, or if needed, to develop a prototype to perfection. In addition, it helps broaden the information about the product by adding it to the labels. Directing the camera on the label, it is possible to see more details about the product, so the real label is not overloaded with text.

For sure, technological progress will just increase in the future. We highly recommend considering AR and VR options for your project, as it has great potential! We hope this article was useful for you and gave some ideas for an impressive project presentation.

The images featured in this post are all the Viscato’s projects and you can see all of them in our Portfolio section. If any of projects are inspirational for you, feel free to contact us at contact@viscato.com