How Is Augmented Reality Used in Business?

Many people have already experienced their first exposure to augmented reality technology with hardware like the iPhone and iPad. LiDaR technology allows users to overlay virtual reality on reality to experience digital elements in a pseudo-physical way. While this phenomenon is still very nascent, businesses are noticing AR and evaluating how it can fit into their models. As AR becomes more refined and realistic, it’s likely that many more professional applications will find their way into different businesses.

Augmented Reality’s Role in the Metaverse

When people think of the metaverse, they envision holograms, virtual reality, and immersive experiences. However, augmented reality is included under the metaverse rubric and may even be the majority of the metaverse. This relationship with the metaverse provides exciting connections and opportunities for businesses to engage in other web3 and metaverse activities.

Use Cases for Augmented Reality

Augmented reality is different from explicit metaverse technology like NFTs and other similar uses. Along with this difference in the nature of the technology comes a difference in the use cases. The current need for explicitly web3/metaverse businesses is still relatively niche, but this doesn’t preclude non-web3 companies from taking advantage of the technology. Many businesses, if not nearly all, can benefit from the deployment of augmented reality. 

HR and Training

One of the most costly parts of running a business is hiring the right people. Depending on the seniority of the position, the hiring process can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and take several years before that cost is recuperated. A bad hire can cost the company even more dearly. AR is currently being used to help reduce employee attrition by allowing them to experience what the job would be like before being hired for the position.

Once an employee has successfully gone through the hiring process, he or she may encounter an augmented reality training program. AR training helps companies provide the same sort of training regardless of the geographic location. Franchises spread on both sides of the country (or even the world) can provide their employees with precisely the same training.

Complex or potentially dangerous activities can benefit from AR training as well. For example, those working in health care, like doctors and nurses, can practice procedures without danger to a patient. Other potentially dangerous vocations like airline pilots and high-tension powerline workers can also train for their jobs without exposing themselves or others to danger.

Product Development

Manufacturing companies that create and build different products can also greatly benefit from augmented reality. Digital renderings of prototypes may have several advantages over working with a physical representation or prototype. First, augmented reality is an inherently digital technology, meaning a development team could be distributed across the country or even the globe. Many products that require a physical prototype require that employees live close to the work location or at least be willing to travel for extended periods. AR product development, on the other hand, can help companies bring together a dream team of engineers or designers regardless of physical location.

In addition to the decentralized nature of AR product development, AR is cheaper and more scalable than traditional product development. Fewer physical materials are needed to create a prototype, and any safety threats can be vastly mitigated. Identical iterations of a 3D rendering can also be created to test different solutions and parts on a prototype. These benefits, combined with a decentralized team of highly competent people, can improve both the lead time and costs associated with product development.

Sales and Marketing

Sales and marketing can be powerful applications to the sales cycle. Inherent within augmented reality is to take what is in the “mind’s eye” and project it into the real world. This projection creates an immediate emotional bond with the object that a company is selling. The utility, desire fulfillment, or elimination of a pain point can easily be visualized from a pseudo-tangible first-person perspective. 

Famously, the shoe company Nike started working with an NFT creator company called RTFKT. Nike ended up purchasing RTFKT in a marketing move to be one of the first retail companies to enter the metaverse/augmented reality space. The investment invariably caters to a niche group of people, but the move has generated admiration for the company among those already involved with the metaverse.

PR and “Buzz” Generation

Finally, because AR technology is so new, there is an inherently interesting novelty surrounding its use and deployment. Companies can take advantage of this novelty to create unforgettable experiences with AR technology and cement the brand in customers’ minds for weeks, if not years.

Several companies like Uber, Taco Bell, and Pepsi have used AR to their advantage creating local, national, and even international buzz. For example, Pepsi famously used augmented reality in a London bus stop shelter. They placed a TV vertically; cast a video of the other side of the bus shelter to create a fake window; and added UFOs, fighting robots, and wild tigers. The people of London and the world loved it, which sparked a substantial amount of “buzz” surrounding the Pepsi brand.

Keys for Effective AR Use

There are a few universal principles that any company considering implementing AR technology can look toward. First, augmented reality technology is different from virtual reality technology because it rests on a layer of reality. Any augmented reality technology should build on and improve any experience offered by the surrounding natural environment. Second, the company must evaluate the appropriateness of AR technology use based on the company’s activities and the planned use case. For example, retail use cases should be motivated by garnering attention and generating sales, whereas manufacturing companies may use AR for development and coordination purposes. Finally, AR should make the user’s life easier and more enriched — prospects and employees should feel like their lives are better for interacting with a company’s AR. 

Conclusion

Augmented reality is making quick inroads in many businesses. While it is still a nascent technology, it may soon become a “pay-to-play” requirement like other media. We may look to online advertising: though it was a novelty initially, most companies now include a digital advertising budget to promote their products. The Wharton School is meeting education needs early to develop business professionals who will create the future of augmented reality and the metaverse. Wharton offers the only executive metaverse education to help C-suite and financial professionals prepare for the future of business. For more information on the metaverse course or to enroll, visit our information page for the next steps.

‍This article is for marketing purposes only and does not intend to represent the opinions of the program.

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