Benefits of Augmented Reality to Bring SMEs to a Brand New Level

Augmented reality has created a ripple of excitement in recent years. As this emerging technology is evolving, SMEs are going to use benefits of augmented reality to offer customers a lifelike immersive experience. Though the AR concept is still in the nascent stage of exploration, it has started making a massive impact on business and private lives.

In this post, openGeeksLab has outlined what AR is, benefits of augmented reality in business, and how augmented reality helps industries ensure their targets.

What is AR?

Augmented reality is an interactive experience of a real-world environment where computer-generated data enhances objects that reside in the real world. In short, it is a bridge between real-life and virtual worlds.

Do Not Confuse Augmented Reality with a Virtual One!

Virtual reality offers a digital reproduction of the real situation of life, while augmented reality imposes virtual elements on the real world.

Augmented reality enhances users’ experience by adding virtual components such as digital images or graphics to the real world. In contrast, virtual reality creates its reality, which is generated and controlled by a computer. As for transmission method, helmet or remote control transmits virtual reality to users, while for an augmented reality one needs mobile devices such as a smartphone or a tablet.

Benefits of Augmented Reality in Business

Businesses using augmented reality gain robust benefits and AR adoption brings SMEs to a brand new level. Let’s see why.

1. Helps Avoid Design Errors

New equipment development is a complicated process. Defects that emerged at this stage can be expensive. It might take a lot of time to eliminate them. The use of augmented reality in business saves money and resources via working with virtual prototypes of the future model. By using tablets, experts can see drawings as 3D projections. One can even arrange a virtual design test, which helps detect flaws that are not visible at the design stage.

2. Speeds Up Product Installation

It takes a long time for technological companies to decipher instructions. SMEs are searching for how to speed up mechanisms installation and ensuring the quality of work guarantee. Benefits of AR for businesses allow spending fewer efforts and decreasing time to market. Augmented reality completely replaces paper printouts. Each object has a detailed certificate of its use.

3. Simplifies Repair and Maintenance

Production requires ongoing maintenance and timely repair. Ignoring this can lead to downtime and income loss.
AR is a business-friendly tool for solving such problems. Advantages of augmented reality allow seeing building infrastructure hidden from the eyes inside the walls. Sensors transmit data on system health while interactive schemes allow finding the exact location of the damaged area.

4. Ensures Logistics Savings

In warehouses with hundreds of products, cargo installation is time-consuming. The human factor also affects—the more people are involved, the higher the risk of error. The benefits of augmented reality technology are about optimizing logistics flow. AR device reads a unique code and provides staff with required instructions.

5. Teaches Staff Faster and More Efficiently Than People

Even highly qualified personnel needs training, but it takes up time that employees could spend on work duties. Augmented reality allows learning more efficiently during the working process and eliminates human involvement. A notification system is better than a personal mentor to cope with this problem.

Industries That Can Benefit from Applying AR

1. Manufacturing

Here are some core benefits of augmented reality technology for manufacturing:

• Automated workflow

Engineers can work faster! Usually, they need years of training to assemble an airplane, but with AR glasses, they can see renderings of instruments and instructions on how to construct a specific component.

• Easier access to data

You can use AR-driven solutions for QR codes scanning to view the live video feed, images, graphics—all that ensures efficient machine repair.

• Cut down maintenance time and save costs

Bosch collaborates with the Reflekt augmented and mixed reality experts to stay at the top via Common Augmented Reality Platform (CAP). This app offers all the needed stuff that your mechanic can do, but for free.

• Say no to downtime

With augmented reality business applications, you can visually identify a problem on the shop floor and solve it there. Therefore, you will not lose hundreds of thousands of dollars during downtime.

• Prevent errors

Airbus uses its Smart Augmented Reality Tool (SART), which allows engineers to find any error quite fast, ensuring workflow optimization.

2. Retail

AR helps to connect brands with their customers, starting from the appearance of a problem, then searching for a product and, finally, choosing a product. Here are some augmented reality business opportunities for retail.

• Improving sales

Augmented reality business applications improve sales—3D models are much more attractive than conventional web configurators.

• Providing additional valuable information

Providing SMEs with critical data is among augmented reality business opportunities for retail. Thus, AR-powered apps provide retailers with reports on customer activity, which helps managers fine-tune their sales system.

• Increasing brand awareness

AR, as interactive technology, helps retailers increase brand awareness as well as promote new products. Converse and L’Oréal Paris have long used augmented reality solutions for ad campaigns.

3. Entertainment and Gaming

Gaming is continually developing and reaching another level of sophistication as benefits derived from AR are endless. Simulation games are renowned and beloved among users. AR makes cabins feel real to gamers and helps them improve real-life experiences in a safe environment.

4. Immersive Education

Google Classroom is a classic showcase of what AR technologies can do for strengthening education. 3D graphics, 360-degree videos, virtual walkthroughs are a few excellent benefits of AR technologies. Furthermore, advanced AR app solutions help soldiers, drivers, workers in high-risk environments, and students boost their skills, eliminating mistakes that can cost them their lives.

5. Healthcare

AR allows the patient’s’ vital signs monitoring to ensure effective treatment. AR-powered apps can send clinicians notifications of any symptoms, signs, abnormalities so that they could assess the situation and immediately provide assistance.

The EyeDecide app allows diagnosing vision problems. AccuVein allows verifying vein patency and avoiding valves or bifurcations.

6. Real Estate

Here are the most valuable benefits of AR-based applications for real estate:

• Mobility

All one needs to immerse themselves in augmented reality is a gadget.

• Interactivity

Want to showcase your customers how their new apartments will look? Only one click, and your clients will see everything they want.

Offer Your Customers a Lifelike Immersive Experience

As you can see, augmented reality benefits for business are endless. Augmentation will continue to mature. We bet you agree that you should invest in AR as a massive tool for widening your horizons.

We at openGeeksLab know how to implement AR solutions to offer your customers a lifelike immersive experience. Just drop us a line, and we will be happy to assist you in transforming your business.