Augmented Reality in KBB Industry
At Moxels we specialise in creating photorealistic cgi room sets and we keep our eyes open for new technologies and developments. So this is an exciting time for us to see that a company such as Facebook is willing to invest this kind of money and time into virtual reality Oculus VR which will in the future likely be in every household and Facebook's involvement could likely speed up the whole process of bringing it to market.
For Facebook the future strategic advantages are obvious for both the social networking and advertising world and are no doubt some of the reasons behind the huge investment.
Mark Zuckerberg believes that Oculus has the potential to be one of the most important computing platforms of the future and certainly in regards to social networking and user experience and at Moxels, we would have to agree!
But what about augmented or virtual reality within the KBB sector?
Will this amazing technology become commonplace in our industry?
Will people start planning their kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms using augmented reality or virtual reality and how will this impact with the computer generated imagery we currently use?
Virtual Reality vs Augmented Reality
First of all let’s have a look at the differences between Augmented Reality (AR) & Virtual Reality (VR) and their potential applications in KBB.
Augmented reality essentially combines virtual reality and real life, and developers can create images within the applications that will blend in with contents in the real world. This has huge implications for the kitchen, bedroom and bathroom sector as consumers would be able to walk around their own house and try a new kitchen or bathroom and make changes before having it fitted.
Virtual reality is the creation of a completely virtual world that the users can then interact with. VR is usually achieved by wearing a VR headset or goggles similar to the Oculus Rift.
Both virtual reality and augmented reality are similar in their goals of completely immersing the user but both systems go about this in different ways. With AR, users continue to be in touch with the real world while interacting with virtual objects around them. With VR, the user is isolated from the real world while immersed in a world that is completely fabricated.
For this reason augmented reality will likely be the choice for consumers in KBB who are looking to install new kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms etc whereas the virtual reality would likely be more useful to those involved in the initial concept and build stage of a housing development or commercial building.
Both AR and VR will likely be useful to the KBB industry and to businesses and consumers alike however AR might have more commercial success because it will still allow people to interact with the real world around them.
Got an opinion? Please share it below in our comments section! We'd love to hear your thoughts on these exciting developments or drop into our Manchester offices for a cup of tea and a chat!