How AR can enhance last-mile logistics processes

9

October

2022

5/5 (1)

Augmented Reality (AR) is defined as the expansion of physical reality by overlaying digital or computer-generated information into the user’s field of view (Wang et al., 2020). In recent years, AR technologies gained importance and notoriety. Its market was valued at $3.5 billion in 2018 and it is expected to reach $200 billion by 2025 (Rejeb et al., 2020). Mainly, its presence is more pronounced in the gaming and entertainment industry, healthcare, tourism, and educational industry. Commonly, AR applications are utilized through a smartphone: for instance, barcode scanning and virtual modeling are two common utilizations of AR technologies. The latter can be utilized to visualize items such as clothing, houses, jewelry, cars, and many more.

Above, you can see a picture of the mobile application PokemonGo. This AR-based game allowed users to walk around the real world and chase pokemon, through location tracking and mapping technology. Launched in 2016, this game conquered the hearts of the people. While in 2016 PokemonGo got 232 million users to play, in 2021 they still managed to hold 71 million active users (Iqbal, 2022).


In recent years, AR has been considered a valuable option to increase efficiency and decrease costs in supply chains. Specifically, in last mile logistics processes, which consist of the last leg of the supply chain, concerning the delivery of the product from the warehouse to the customer (Bányai, 2018), it appears that AR could decrease its costs. It is important to note that last-mile logistics processes contribute to 50%-75% of the total distribution costs, thus it is important to find a suitable solution.

Simple graphic of last-mile logistics processes.


Currently, AR has the potential to decrease downtime. One way is from increasing efficiency in the loading and unloading phases. For instance, Head-Mounted-Displays (HMD) can project in the user’s field of view the optimal loading of the truck, visualizing where to place each package in the vehicle, thus maximizing usage of the space available and reducing the number of trips (Wang et al., 2020). Once the deliverer arrived at the customer’s destination, HMDs can project which package must be picked for that address (Wang et al., 2020).



Moreover, AR has the potential to decrease the time of delivery and improve workers’ conditions thanks to HMDs. For instance, it has been tried out a windshield HMD display, which projects to the driver the route to take, speed, location of package delivery, package, and customer information (Lim et al., 2018). The benefits of such practice are increased efficiency, decreased mistakes and accidents, and better working conditions (Blümel, 2013).

Furthermore, in many industries, AR demonstrated to be beneficial for training procedures. Hence, new employees in the last mile logistics can be trained via HMDs, ensuring fewer mistakes and a faster training process (Ferrati et al., 2019). This benefit is of particular importance for last-mile logistics processes as employees in this sector are leaving their jobs frequently, thus increasing employee turnover rates. As a consequence, many costs are involved with turnover, such as downtime, looking for replacement, and training of new employees. AR could be the solution: by giving better working conditions, simplifying tasks, minimizing errors, and increasing efficiency. Also, training could be quicker and more efficient.

References

Bányai, T. (2018). Real-Time Decision Making in First Mile and Last Mile Logistics: How Smart Scheduling Affects Energy Efficiency of Hyperconnected Supply Chain Solutions. Energies, 11(7), 1833. https://doi.org/10.3390/en11071833

Blümel, E. (2013). Global Challenges and Innovative Technologies Geared Toward New Markets: Prospects for Virtual and Augmented Reality. Procedia Computer Science, 25, 4–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2013.11.002

Ferrati, F., Erkoyuncu, J. A., & Court, S. (2019). Developing an Augmented Reality Based Training Demonstrator for Manufacturing Cherry Pickers. Procedia CIRP, 81, 803– 808. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procir.2019.03.203

Iqbal, M. (2022, June 30). Pokémon Go Revenue and Usage Statistics (2022). Retrieved October 4, 2022, from https://www.businessofapps.com/data/pokemon-go-statistics/

Lim, S. F. W., Jin, X., & Srai, J. S. (2018). Consumer-driven e-commerce. International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 48(3), 308–332. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijpdlm-02-2017-0081

Rejeb, A., Keogh, J. G., Wamba, S. F., & Treiblmaier, H. (2020). The potentials of augmented reality in supply chain management: a state-of-the-art review. Management Review Quarterly, 71(4), 819–856. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11301-020- 00201-w

Wang, W., Wang, F., Song, W., & Su, S. (2020). Application of Augmented Reality (AR) Technologies in inhouse Logistics. E3S Web of Conferences, 145, 02018. https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202014502018


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How AR and VR Are Revolutionising the Healthcare Sector

24

September

2022

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Augmented Reality (AR) is a set of technologies that complements the physical (real) world with digital data and media and allows for an unprecedented human-virtual experience. This combination of technology and the physical aspect of the world allows its user to fully benefit from data, which is often said to be two-dimensional. Virtual Reality (VR) on the other hand replaces physical reality with a computer-generated environment in which the user is fully immersed thanks to hardware such as VR headsets (Porter and Heppelmann, 2017).

Since the beginning of the 21st century, the healthcare sector has undergone tremendous changes. Efforts to constantly improve the industry in terms of how patients can be cured, rising costs, and the expanding use of connected devices make medicine favourable to the implementation of AR and VR now more than ever. As a matter of fact, the use of AR and VR in the healthcare industry is expected to reach $5.1 billion by 2025 according to Goldman Sachs (2016).

Even though these technologies are still under development, they are already widely used in the healthcare sector. At George Washington University, advanced VR tools are utilised by neurosurgeons to explore patients’ brains prior to performing the medical procedure. By using these technologies, neurosurgeons can better prepare for operations and avoid accidents, thus improving their surgical efficiency (Li, 2022). In addition to VR, surgeons make use of AR through connected glasses to monitor the patient’s vital signs while remaining fully concentrated on the actual procedure.

VR can also be used for patient care and education. In an article about VR and AR in the healthcare industry, vStream (2018) discusses a program set up by the NHS that allows young patients to be taken through every step of an MRI scan thanks to a VR headset prior to the real procedure. This program aims to lessen the fear and anxiety of patients, thus allowing for a smoother execution of the medical procedure.

Although AR and VR are still under development, it is clear that they are capable of truly disrupting the healthcare industry and that current applications of these technologies are already drastically improving medical services and patient experience.

References:

GOLDMAN SACHS 2016. Virtual and augmented reality. Understanding the race for the next computing platform.

LI, D. 2022. How Virtual Reality Is Transforming Healthcare [Online]. Available: https://www.uschamber.com/technology/how-virtual-reality-is-transforming-healthcare#:~:text=VR%20has%20proven%20to%20be,and%20chronic%20pain%2C%20and%20more. [Accessed 21/09/2022].

PORTER, M. E. & HEPPELMANN, J. E. 2017. Why every organization needs an augmented reality strategy. HBR’S 10 MUST, 85.

VSTREAM. 2018. VR & AR FOR HEALTHCARE & MEDICINE [Online]. Available: https://vstream.ie/vr-ar-for-healthcare-medicine/ [Accessed 23/09/2022].

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From eCommerce to vCommerce

7

October

2021

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Whoever has been faced with buying a desk for their newly (involuntary) home office during the global COVID-19 pandemic might have encountered IKEA’s Augmented Reality solution – the IKEA Place App. It allows “people to virtually place true-to-scale models of IKEA furniture in their own homes” (IKEA, 2019). The application has already been around for four years, but its relevance increased significantly for many customers when stores were forced to close during the pandemic.

As traditional ways of exploring and testing products physically were or still are not possible anymore, Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) solutions provide an immersive opportunity of discovering them virtually. Thus, the COVID-19 crisis did not only accelerate the shift from offline to online shopping but also boosted the relevance of AR and VR in the retail industry.  In the highly competitive retail landscape, companies should explore this powerful tool enabling them to differentiate themselves and connect with their customers.

The possibilities of applications are vast, for on- as well as offline shopping. Mostly AR and VR solutions are used to create a unique customer experience. With the help of AR, companies can for example facilitate in-store navigation to easily direct customers to the product they are searching for. In addition, virtual try-on solutions are particularly suitable for the fashion and beauty industry and have been put into practice by several firms such as Sephora and Gucci. Next to offering an immersive customer experience, both technologies have the potential to provide substantial revenue impact. According to Shopify, interactions with products having AR content showed a 94% higher conversion rate compared to products without such content. Furthermore, lower return rates can be expected from products that have been previously tried on or tested virtually.

The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of AR and VR by companies as well as customers but will their applications become really an inherent part of our shopping strolls? Or is the increased use of AR and VR for retail business rather temporary? Feel free to comment on your experience with AR and VR while shopping and whether you believe it will become an essential part of retailers’ strategy.

References:

https://about.ikea.com/en/newsroom/2019/09/24/ikea-sparks-home-furnishing-ideas-and-inspiration-through-artificial-intelligence

https://hbr.org/2020/10/how-ar-is-redefining-retail-in-the-pandemic?registration=success

https://www.warc.com/newsandopinion/opinion/how-augmented-reality-is-set-to-transform-retail/3967

https://www.xcubelabs.com/blog/10-applications-of-ar-vr-that-can-transform-your-retail-sales-completely-find-out-how/

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Seeing is believing, but feeling’s the truth?

10

September

2021

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September 2021 marks an exciting time for the high fashion world as Runways, the industry’s centrepiece, seem to be returning to normality. Kicking off with New York Fashion Week, the event is hosting its first physical shows since February 2020. While the shows have not yet returned to their pre-pandemic attendance levels, this still is good news for an industry that on an intuitive level is seemingly ill-suited to the digital sphere which it was restricted to over the past 18 months. However, the high fashion industry may not only be using technology to successfully navigate our Covid-19 altered world, but the industry may also see technology completely change the way we try on, purchase, and even wear our clothes.

Augmented reality is an enhanced version of the real physical world that is achieved through the use of digital visual elements, sound, or other sensory stimuli delivered via technology, the foremost of which is what the high fashion industry is focusing on to change the way we interact with our wardrobe. The primary application of this technology is allowing customers to try on clothes, accessories, or even cosmetic products with the use of a medium such as the consumers’ smartphone, glasses, or even a mirror. This service is already in use today with “Dior Try-On” allowing you or I to try on the French luxury House’s sunglasses and other accessories by simply using our smartphones. L’Oréal also offers a similar application for the testing of the brand’s lipstick, also with the use of a smartphone. In 2018, 10% of luxury goods were sold through e-commerce channels, with this proportion expected to hit 25% by 2025. While this growth has been inflated by e-commerce trends during the Covid-19 pandemic, even before this, younger consumers started to demonstrate an increased willingness to purchase expensive luxury goods online. Those operating in the luxury goods industry believe these augmented reality services may be a way to capture this trend of purchasing high ticket items online, as well as even attracting more customers to do so through creating a more pleasurable and comprehensive virtual shopping experience.

Dior Launches a New Augmented Reality Filter on Instagram
Dior Try-On allows consumers to try on the luxury brand’s accessories.

While being able to try on all of Dior’s latest pieces (virtually) from the comfort of your home may seem, exciting, farfetched, or even gimmicky? It does give us insight into what the ultimate destination may be for this technology. As we become more and more connected to a virtual ecosystem, is it inconceivable to think our eyes will one day become intertwined with a digital reality? Facebook has recently unveiled their partnership with popular eyewear manufacturer Ray-Ban to produce a pair of glasses capable of recording video and receiving phone calls. While this first product includes no mention of augmented reality, looking deeper into Facebook’s operations, a larger vision starts to develop. Currently, approximately 20% of 60,500 employees are working exclusively on virtual and augmented reality, the company has also acquired serval AR & VR firms such as BigBox VR and Unit 2 Games. While it is currently just speculation that we will see Facebook integrate AR into their new smart glasses, it is very apparent that Silicon Valley thinks AR is here to stay.

How will the possible integration of VR into our daily lives affect our relationship with the way we wear clothes? Well, the Italian luxury House Gucci may have already given us a hint. Released in March 2021, the Gucci Virtual 25 is a digital sneaker that can only be worn with the use of augmented reality. Similar to the idea of Dior’s Try-On, except this time the consumer was not using their phone to virtually experience wearing a digital version of a product they may then purchase, this was the product. Costing $12, the shoes could be purchased through Gucci’s mobile app, the app could then be used to project the shoes on the consumers’ feet allowing them to take pictures “wearing” the shoes. With the rise of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), allowing certificate of ownership for digital art, large investment in AR & VR as well as the possible wide-scale adoption of smart eyewear, in the future could we experience a reality in which clothes could be worn either physically and digitally?  

Gucci releases first Virtual 25 sneaker that can only be worn in AR
The Gucci Virtual 25 are the brand’s only exclusively digital footwear.

Sources:

https://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/8777/is-there-any-future-for-vr-in-fashion-checking-the-latest-vr-apps-virtual-shopping-and-more

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/augmented-reality.asp#:~:text=Augmented%20reality%20(AR)%20is%20an,and%20business%20applications%20in%20particular.

https://blog.clear.sale/luxury-industry-statistics-and-insights-in-2020

https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/9/22662809/facebook-ray-ban-stories-camera-smart-glasses-hands-on

dezeen.com/2021/03/19/virtual-25-gucci-wanna-digital-sneaker/

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How far are we from ‘Ready Player One’?

8

October

2020

No ratings yet. Have you seen the movie ‘Ready Player One’ directed by Steven Spielberg? You might still remember the suit Wade bought that enables him to feel his virtual girlfriend’s temperature when he holds Samantha’s hands. This is exactly what Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and ‘human-computer-human’ interaction should look like in the future. HCI is what can happen when the computer system as well as the human user get together to achieve a task, in an efficient and learnable way (section 1.3.1, Hartson R. and Pyla P., 2012). Clear and realistic vision/hearing can no longer meet people’s needs. The trend for HCI is now after the simulation in touch and taste, etc. that make people feel more immersive.

ready_player_one_banner

A master graduate designer at Cologne International School of Design, Dorothee Clasen invented a wearable devide TONG. The principle is to interact with the computer through the operation of tongue on the controller. According to Dorothee (Dezeen, 2020), the inspiration comes from her riding experience since riders often pulls the reins to communicate with the horse’s mouth. People can use the reins to influence the horse’s posture, and the horse will adjust its movements accordingly. This design seems a little ‘improvisation’ however it can be applied to practical cases. For those with a lack of arms or patients with progressive freezing syndrome, TONG can be very useful, by helping them control the wheelchair, direct the mouse and so on. Of course, for designers or professional gamers who are often very busy with their hands that they want to need a third hand to operate some simple functions, Tong can definitely be a new idea.

Just as VR goggle and wearable skin, it’s not unimaginable to extend devices like tactile fingers/gloves that can get real touch feeling. A design studio in Tokyo developed a tactile device called ‘Fulu’ to be used on the finger. Users can experience the touch of similar materials by wearing it, when the phone screen virtually touches objects of different materials (Fulu, 2020). For those users who raise pets on the cloud, this device let them experience the real touch of puppies and kitties.

The commercial value comes with the VR game with full immersion experience, which helps game players to obtain the super audio-visual and real touch experience provided by the full-body device. This type of Full body haptic suits plus tactile feedback gloves can get a complete tactile feedback experience, which can replicate soft touch feelings and strong shocks, simulating intimate contact in the virtual world. As far as I’m concerned, in the next few years, wearable devices that simulate human bodies in all aspects of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and touching, will become popular, in the upcoming immersive virtual world.

Of course, we can also get a very different life experience. In February 2020, a South Korean mother saw her daughter who passed away a few years ago through the use of tactile gloves. In the future, many people will turn themselves or their parents, lovers, and children into such virtual images to complete the digital “immortality” reshaping.

 

 

References:

Dezeen, Tong allows users to control a computer with their tongue, 2020, viewed at 8 Oct 2020, <https://www.dezeen.com/2020/08/26/inbrace-dorothee-clasen-graduate-design-technology-tongue-computer/>

FuLu, Haptic Finger Nail for Augmented Reality Design, 2019, viewed at 7 2020 <https://www.ryotada.com/fulu>

Hartson R. and Pyla P., 2012, The UX Book, viewed at 7 Oct 2020, <https://www.sciencedirect.com/book/9780123852410/the-ux-book>

Ready Player One, Wikipedia, viewed at 8 Oct 2020, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ready_Player_One_(film)>

 

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NIke’s SNKRS App: Driving Sales via Digital Community

18

October

2019

No ratings yet. After the recent decline in sales of Nike, the company decided to change its strategy by focussing its distribution on direct-to-consumer channels (Karwatka, 2018). This has proven to be a successful strategy as digital commerce sales went up 35% for 2019 fiscal year (Nike News, 2019). By establishing a direct relationship with the customers, and building emotional consumer experiences, Nike creates a loyal customer base that drives up the sales.  

At the moment, Nike owns several distribution channels: physical stores, its website, and apps – Nike+ and SNKRS. SNKRS app represents a digital platform centered around sneakers community. It is not just another digital store, but a platform that offers insider access and content about the latest sneakers. According to Ron Faris, CEO of s23nyc, the studio behind the SNKRS app, the digital community consists of 20% of Hyperbeasts, people that are extremely knowledgeable and fanatical about the community, and 80% of Styleseekers who are interested to learn more (The Next Web, 2018). And the key to driving a digital community and creating a powerful social network is to make those that have the most knowledge to share with those who have the least. 

In the case of SNKRS,  it offers consumers a platform to share their enthusiasm for Nike shoes, and creates immersive experiences for a chance to access limited edition styles. It creates a digital community of people that are crazy about sneakers, and uses this community to share and drive sales and engagement better than any advertising campaign as it allows to scale up without much investment. 

In order to energize such a community and create virality, the app is based upon three components: product, story and experience (The Next Web, 2018). By providing its key product, high-end shoes that are surrounded by a folklore story through a special and unique experience, it can make customers very emotional, enticing them to share and grow the community by means of which the product sells through. 

For sneaker community, the experience of buying sneakers as is important as sneakers themselves (The Next Web, 2018). Thus, another component of SNKRS’ strategy is gamification of the purchasing process. The company uses technology, in particular augmented reality, to revolutionize the buying experience by creating a sense of competitiveness fuelled by the adrenaline. For example, SNKRS Stash is campaign that allows users to purchase limited edition sneakers only from a certain location in their city (Karwatka, 2019). With this feature, online shopping can reach another level as virtually everyone and everything can become a Nike store: a poster in a metro, a menu in a restaurant or a concert of a celebrity. 

Thus, Nike is redefining online shopping by engaging with customers directly and creating emotional experiences through the use of technology. 

 

References:

Karwatka, T. (2018). Nike just shaped the future of retail with mobile-first commerce. [online] Divante.com. Available at: https://divante.com/blog/nike-just-shaped-future-retail-mobile-first-commerce/ [Accessed 17 Oct. 2019].

Nike News. (2019). NIKE, Inc. Reports Fiscal 2019 Fourth Quarter and Full Year Results. [online] Available at: https://news.nike.com/news/nike-inc-reports-fiscal-2019-fourth-quarter-and-full-year-results [Accessed 17 Oct. 2019].

The Next Web. (2018). Ron Faris (Nike) on The future of retail and digital community | TNW Conference 2018. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXLwzm2292U [Accessed 17 Oct. 2019]

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AR in the US army: are they ready?

23

September

2018

No ratings yet. Augmented reality (AR) is a disruptive innovation that is entering many, if not all, industries globally. Many apps as well as AR glasses and headsets are already marketed commercially and thus available to the individual customer. For individuals, this is mostly just for fun, such as the famous Pokémon Go app. On top of that, AR can sometimes already be useful in professional industries. It is, for example, increasingly being applied in the healthcare industry and it is expected to continuously transform this industry in the future.

Now, AR has touched a new industry: the army. Multiple companies, amongst which Microsoft and Magic Leap, are said to be willing to give AR-headsets to the United States army. By using these AR-headsets in the US army, they can be used for combat training, which will aid in optimizing the trainings. With the program, the US army says it is intending to become more effective: enemies should more quickly be recognized, and the army’s readiness to act should be increased as well. They are intending to gain an edge on the battlefield by incorporating these AR headsets in their trainings. The collaboration may eventually lead to providing over 100,000 headsets to the US army and the agreement would be part of a program worth over 500 million US dollars. (Brustein, 2018)

If this collaboration indeed continues, a whole new area of technology should be developed: the headsets should be made compatible with new sorts of environments, which may vary from the jungle, to the arctic, or the desert. Currently, the AR headsets that are marketed commercially to individuals, still have their bugs and are far from optimized yet. Therefore, one may wonder whether technology is ready to take on such a challenge. What do you think? Should they wait until technology is more ready for this challenge, or should they take the risk?

Reference:

Brustein, J. (2018). Magic Leap is Bidding on an Army Combat Contract. Retrieved September 23, 2018, from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-21/magic-leap-is-bidding-on-an-army-combat-contract?srnd=technology-vp

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Why Retailers Are Investing In Augmented Reality

29

September

2017

4.67/5 (3) AR ikea2

Recently, IKEA has released a mobile application that lets you experience and experiment Ikea products into your living room, giving the user the opportunity to get inspired to try different products and styles in real-life settings, without leaving the house (Johnston, 2017). Everything is 3D and true to scale so you can see if it’ll fit by using Augmented Reality technology. It works by obtaining a representation of a scene of a local environment by using a sensor of the mobile device. The Ikea application automatically scales products based on room dimensions, with more than two thousand different products available at launch of the application. The graphical object data that enables a three-dimensional representation of the object (e.g. an office chair), is obtained via the database of IKEA (Arrasvuori, 2006).
 
The main disadvantage of online shopping has always been the lack of feel of a product, to see how it works, or in the case of furniture, the way it looks. It is obvious why retailers of furniture such as IKEA are interested in such a technology, but why do other industries such as clothing or electronics, care about augmented reality (Alvarez, 2017), when they can easily send their customers the product with free returns?
 
It turns out that free returning for a customer does absolutely not mean free for the online stores. Think of costs for shipping, handling and controlling the returning orders, but also paying for recycling the parcel and repacking the goods. According to research conducted by the National Retail Federation, merchandise returns in the U.S. represent nearly $16 billion of the retail market (Augment, 2016). If online retailers manage to even drop the returns by 10% with augmented reality functionalities, this could save the overall retail market more than $1.6 billion per year.

 

As the field of AR will grow in the next few years, it will probably centralize into a few dominator players. Today, a few retailers are at the starting phase of applying AR to the shopping experience. Companies are experimenting and trying to understand how AR can enhance their value proposition to customers. Other companies will need to figure out how they can use AR in their own offerings and strategies in the near future. Of course, the chances of AR taking over the e-commerce world are slim. But, with the technological advancement of today it is important to realize that once it’s here, the first adapters will be able to have a huge advantage over other competitors. Just as most retailers started too late with e-commerce or a social media presence, they might regret not investing in AR sooner.

Sources:

Alvarez, E. (2017, January 31). Gap envisions a future with augmented-reality ‘dressing rooms’. Retrieved September 28, 2017, from https://www.engadget.com/2017/01/30/gap-augmented-reality-dressing-rooms/

Arrasvuori, J. (2006). U.S. Patent Application No. 11/523,162.

Augment, A. (2016). The Future of Augmented Reality and Online Shopping. (2017, February 14). Retrieved September 28, 2017, from http://www.augment.com/blog/future-augmented-reality-online-shopping/

Johnston, R. (2017, September 26). IKEA’s New Augmented Reality App Means You’re Never Not At IKEA. Retrieved September 28, 2017, from https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2017/09/ikeas-new-augmented-reality-app-means-youre-never-not-at-ikea/

Pardes, A. (2017, September 20). Ikea’s New App Shows the Practical Promise of Augmented Reality. Retrieved September 28, 2017, from https://www.wired.com/story/ikea-place-ar-kit-augmented-reality/

 

 

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Augmented Reality: The Tool To Empower Your Workforce

13

September

2017

5/5 (5) When the “augmented reality” term was first used by Boeing’s researcher Tom Caudell in ‘90s, it was perceived as another artificial concept. Now, when the technology has become much more mature, it has potential to shift the way we cooperate with each other by enhancing employee training, business processes and workflow.

Augmented reality, unlike its close cousin, virtual reality, which creates fully artificial world, integrates digital information with the real environment. It allows us not only to see virtual objects but also to interact with them. Imagine working on a project where you need to have a quick access to specifications, have an open programming application and want to follow a screen of your colleague sharing with you his ideas via skype at the same time. To really solve this problem you either need multiple screens or the augmented reality glasses. You can wear these glasses at work, at the airport or at your favourite cafeteria, having an immediate access to all relevant information and leaving both hands free. This amazing technology offers endless opportunities to improve your work-life whenever and wherever you want as if it was a Hermione’s bottomless bag.

GE, with its healthcare team in Waukesha, is an example of the company who has recently started experimenting with the use of AR. In this case, technology is used during the manufacturing process to project work instructions as well as to monitor and give immediate feedback to operators. If an error occurs, given augmented guidelines on following procedures, operators can quickly react to an issue. The technology has been created by the Light Guide System and its main goal is not only to improve efficiency but also to prevent from critical mistakes during an assembly process. First results at GE healthcare are inspiring – a warehouse worker supported with the AR technology completed a task, with no harm on accuracy, 46% faster than when following standard procedures and using standard technology. Other similar cases show an average improvement in productivity of 32%. This success has encouraged GE to further develop the programme as well as to expand it to other areas.

GE’s example is not isolated and we can observe other companies equipping workforces with the AR technology (e.g. Volkswagen, Ford, DHL or McKinsey). There are also numerous other cases where AR could have a significant impact. First of all, training platforms with dynamically changing animations. Imagine hiring a new employee to manage complex machine and able to fix it when a problem arises. Instead of sending the employee for a long training, you can equip him with the AR glasses, which will serve as a guide through any process, step by step, assessing his performance in real-time. It is both much faster and cost-efficient solution. Similarly, remote collaboration could be meaningfully enhanced thanks to an ability to visualize work and test solutions in safe augmented environment (e.g. Ford engineers are using Oculus to collaborate on virtual models of cars).

I believe that AR, especially in the form of headsets, could potentially replace computers. There are still, however, some obstacles to overcome. The first major issue is hardware. While there are already some solutions available on the market, similarly to virtual reality, there is still a room for improvement in terms of usability. Another big proble is the AR content, which requires lots of programming effort as well as personalisation in most of the use cases. Finally, people are still not educated about the potential use of AR, which by some is mostly considered to be a gaming solution. Nevertheless, I am excited about the future of this technology and its implications on our work-life.

 

Sources:

  • www.forbes.com/sites/maribellopez/2016/11/11/augmented-and-virtual-reality-fuel-the-future-workplace/#64cb6322185d
  • hbr.org/2017/03/augmented-reality-is-already-improving-worker-performance
  • www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2017/07/18/how-augmented-reality-will-reinvent-product-design/#2164ab282940
  • www.ge.com/reports/game-augmented-reality-helping-factory-workers-become-productive/
  • www.tonyrobbins.com/career-business/augmented-reality-at-work/

 

 

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Digital Transformation Project – H&M and Augmented Reality

13

October

2016

5/5 (1) H&M is one of the largest clothing retailers world-wide, second only to Indidex, with over 4.000 stores in 64 countries and 140.000 employees. H&M is also actively embracing the online market, where they are already active in 33 countries. This increasing popularity of e-commerce and the subsequent changing customer behaviour is changing the traditional way H&M does business.

 

Regarding the changing customer behaviours and demands, a questionnaire among H&M customers was conducted to identify what advantages customers see in either online or offline shopping for clothing. For online, we found the following main advantages:

  • Convenience, shopping takes less time.
  • Quantity of the offering, online can benefit from the long-tail effect.
  • Availability of the offering, online is much more likely to have the correct sizes in store.
  • Customers like personalised offerings.
  • Transparency of product information, customers can easily check product descriptions themselves.

 

For offline, we found the following main advantages.

  • Customers can feel the product before they buy it.
  • Immediate ownership of goods, no waiting for the delivery van.
  • Less possibility of having to return the clothes.
  • Privacy concerns.

 

While, H&M’s growth strategy is to open more physical stores, our findings clearly see a great deal of customers prefer to shop online. However, H&M’s growth strategy is to open more physical stores. In order to allow H&M’s physical stores to remain relevant to both online and offline customers, we provide a solution which can help incorporate online customer expectations into the physical store.

 

For this purpose, we introduce Cisco StyleMe. This device uses a mirror that overlays the customer’s mirror image with pictures of clothing. Customers can quickly create outfits by mixing and matching a wide range of garments from the retailer’s in-store and online inventory. Cisco StyleMe also adds value by offering advice and recommending related products to customers.

 

The virtual fitting room brings several advantages from the online world into the physical stores. For example, the device allows customers to benefit from the long-tail effect by being able to display any clothes in the database. Also, as the mirror is also a display, product descriptions can be displayed conveniently on the mirror. Adding to this, the display also allows to offer personalised suggestions that go with the clothing that is being tried on. Lastly, if stores decide to limit the presence of physical clothing in their stores  (for the purpose of showcasing or demonstrations), storage space of stores can be minimised and shoplifting can be brought down significantly. In short, implementing Cisco StyleMe allows physical stores to cater to the changing customer demands.

 

The virtual fitting room concept has the potential to change H&M’s current business model. As stores do not necessarily need large storage areas and bulky showcase areas, their design can become much more compact. This opens up a whole new location segment for H&M to open stores in. We propose venues that are always busy, such as train stations, airports, city centres or popular crossings. This concept of small technology-enabled stores will give H&M a new channel to reach customers. These small stores and, more specifically, the virtual fitting rooms, will change the entire value proposition of H&M’s physical stores.

 

Curious? Check out our video as well!

Group 62: M. Hazara (352438), C.T. Heesters (371723), T. Hoes (350000), N. Kießling (437348)

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