Technology is changing rapidly in every sector. The companies strive to serve the consumers in a better way with each passing day. User experience is given just as much importance as the product and services delivered. Amongst all this, in order to elevate the user experience and to increase ease for the companies, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) comes in handy.
Augmented Reality functions by adding digital elements to a live view with the help of the user’s smart phone or camera. Whereas Virtual Reality (VR) transforms the entire surroundings into a digital world with the help of the device incorporated in.
Many apps are now equipped with Augmented and Virtual Reality along with Artificial Intelligence. This paired with machine learning takes the customer service to a whole new level. This trend in turn gave birth to what is known as the computer vision. This allows the devices to use their ability to see and understand everything within the camera’s range.
Normal people were introduced to augmented reality in their everyday life was through Pokemon Go. A game which enabled the player to hold the phone camera in front of them and catch various pokemons. Whereas virtual realiy was prented by various providers such as Google Cardboard and HTC Vive to transport the user into imaginative environments. On order to experience it the user must have access to a special headset.
With that being said, this technology is not only useful for entertainment purposes but can be incorporated into the corporate culture to facilitate training, development, learning and problem solving. For example, AR will allow one to scan an object, say a hardware part and provide them with real time information about it. This could be about assembly of that part or repair. Whereas VR will give opportunities for trial and error before having hands on experience with the machines.
The restaurant industry is a very good example of how one can involve AR and VR in order to improve the business. Many restaurants are now using AR in order to help the customers visualize the dish on the menu. This helps to decide whether the dish will suit their pallet and what to expect once placing the order.
Also this will allow the restaurant to showcase all sorts of information regarding the nutritional value of the dish, ingredients that went in the preparation, portion size and how many people it can serve. This will help the customers choose a dish which is supportive of their lifestyle and choices they follow.
Augmented Reality can also remove any sort of language and communication barrier in between the restaurant and the consumer. Since all the information is displayed, there is little to no space left for miscommunication. Which in turn leads to better consumer experience and can serve as a good word of mouth advertisement for the company.
Even though it might seem like the restaurant industry is making a good use of AR and VR, the technology in itself is in an infancy stage in this sector. There are also many other challenges such as the expense of 3D design interface. To get their hands on technology providing user experience design the restaurant might have to spend a good sum of amount, which might not always be possible for the small and mid-size restaurant owners.
But with that being said, incorporating this technology could be a huge step towards smooth operations and better customer service.
