SHARJAH – How would it feel to experience a shared augmented reality (AR) environment and what kind of behaviour would emerge from these interactions? AR enables brands and product owners to transform images, objects and locations into interactive and immersive digital experiences by putting incredible AR experiences right at the audience’s fingertips. That’s the kind of experience that the stand adjoining the Social Media Station was making its guests feel at the 37th Sharjah International Book Fair.
Khalid Yahia from Physics Lab who was present there with a prototype of the HoloLens says, “Augmented Reality is the new battleground for tech giants and creates a huge opportunity for brands. The beauty of the AR experience is that it can happen anywhere, at any time.
Triggers can range from images to GPS data”. While AR apps and experiences focus on delighting the audience and transforming brand engagement from the ordinary to the extraordinary, there are more real and tangible benefits at hand. Yahia says, “It can be used by medical students to study HoloAnatomy, by engineers to produce 3D interactive images and designers alike”.
The untethered headset is a fully self-contained holographic computer running Windows 10 and allows people to place holograms with a clicker or just with an “Air tap”. This is made entirely of light and is positioned in the physical environment and provides a new way to see the world. Thus, while many companies may want to employ this new dimension of creativity and teamwork using mixed-reality business applications but the expensive investment in these smart glasses might be a deterrent.
A future full of holograms is a promising one for sustainable economies which today can be adapted faster and bring on returns in shorter periods. The credit goes to digital transformation processes that don’t require things to be constructed, transported, maintained and sold in traditional, physical ways.
