Dear marketer, remember the LiDAR acronym and starting thinking about how to use new technology together with AR in future marketing activities as well as e-commerce today.
What is LiDAR?
Last week Apple presented the new iPhone 12. The iPhone 12 Pro versions were equipped with a LiDAR sensor. Let’s start with what is LiDAR? The acronym itself means “Light Detection and Ranging”. As the name suggests, this is a technology that detects the direction of light and also allows you to measure the reflection time of light rays from an object. Translating this into practical applications, LiDAR allows for the accurate scanning of rooms and the creation of a three-dimensional map of the space. The technology itself, built into the new Apple devices, allows to detect the distance of up to 5m from the phone.
LiDAR is most often used today in autonomous car driving systems, which allows for a 3D model of the surroundings to be built in real time. The sensor will soon reach each of us along with the popularization of the solution among smartphone users. The iPhone 12 Pro is the beginning of the popularity of LiDAR technology and guarantees that the solution itself will reach Android smartphones in the near future.
LiDAR + e-commerce?
Today, it is not about how LiDAR will positively influence the world of mobile photography, but about how the technology will change the face of Augmented Reality*, marketing activities, and above all, e-commerce. The biggest problem of electronic shopping is the lack of possibility to check out and try the product before receiving it. However, what if, each of the products could soon be visualized while keeping their actual size and fitting exactly to our room, hand and whole body shape.
Try the watch without leaving the house
Today AR is already being used ingeniously in many applications. Just have a look at the application created by the Gucci brand, which allows you to try on virtual watches. Gucci is not the only brand using AR. Sephora has introduced the Virtual Artist application, which allows you to check what the selected lipstick, eye shadow will look like thanks to the front camera on your phone.
Design your apartment with AR
In presenting examples of AR, it would be impossible to omit the applications prepared by Ikea or Amazon. A giant on the e-commerce market, thanks to Amazon AR View, we can decorate rooms and visualize selected furniture in our rooms directly after selecting a specific product. Today, the applications themselves do not work perfectly because of the problem of detecting depth and distance.
Imagine an extended version of the Amazon application in which each product can be visualized in real time. With AR in our real world, scanning e.g. a living room we will be able to easily select a paint colour, appropriate furniture, the most frequently selected products for your dream blue sofa. And all this directly on our phone without any architect’s advice, complicated applications, all with a few clicks on the screen. Sounds futuristic, but such a solution together with LiDAR and AR will become everyday life.
The category of fashion and furniture products are not only those that can perfectly use the potential of AR and the LiDAR sensor. Let’s think about the Pharmacy category, for example. One of the main concerns of consumers buying painkillers is the size of the tablet. How about the possibility of comparing the tablet size of selected brands thanks to AR and making a purchase decision on this basis? For dessert, an example from the gaming category. Today the video showing the size of the PS5 new generation virtual consoles and Xbox Series X have several hundred thousand views each. How about the main characters of Cyberpunk and the possibility to try on their clothes in your apartment?
LiDAR to next BIG THING for AR and e-commerce
The new LiDAR sensor is a new hand for using AR in applications on our smartphones. A solution that fits perfectly into the next big thing for mobile shopping. The article focuses on AR solutions, which are already being used in the e-commerce world today. However, remember that AR is not only an e-commerce opportunity, I also recommend a fantastic Coca-Cola campaign and implementation. With a view of celebrating the Chinese New Year, the brand presented virtual characters that supported the promotion of a competition to win vouchers to be used for shopping with Alipay. See for yourself:
*Footnote:
Augmented Reality (AR) – Augmented Reality, a combination of the real and virtual worlds. 3D graphics generated in real time are superimposed on the image from the camera from e.g. our smartphone.
Source:
Apple, Amazon
