Augmented Reality content creation for your products – getting started
Mario
Today, Augmented Reality (AR) is increasingly impacting the content we develop. Investing some time to assess how AR may influence our customer experiences is likely worth your efforts. By creating plans to wisely address this imminent content output from the start, you can prevent generating content silos in the process.
In the foreseeable future, AR will likely play an important role in customer experiences involving our products, educating our consumers, and supporting our in-house teams.
In this article, you`ll learn about the most common ways to create Augmented Reality Content.
Table of Contents
Why Do You Need AR Content for Your Products?
When you are selling products online, one of the biggest challenges is that your customers can’t physically interact with your products. This often makes it challenging to understand specifics that may factor into their buying decision.
AR content alleviates this challenge by placing your product in the physical environment of your customer. By bridging the gap between eCommerce and in-store shopping experiences, it provides all the perks of an online presence with the additional benefit of a more realistic experience.
For instance, QLOCKTWO uses AR technology that allows consumers to play with dimensions, layouts, and colors when choosing their clocks. Instead of trying to imagine how a piece of furniture will look in your home, you can see exactly how it will fit into your space.
Types of AR Content Creation
AR content creation basically starts with creating 3D models of the products you want to display. The model is the core of your AR content as it allows audiences to interact with your content in a scalable, accurate manner.
Some of the factors that affect the cost of creating these 3D models include:
- Complexity and quality of your model,
- The method you use to create the model, and
- The agency or designer that you’re working with.
In simple words, the more complex your model is, the more time and money it will take to create it.
Now let’s take a look at three popular methods that you can use to create AR content for your products.
1. Computer Aided Design (CAD)
CAD involves converting 2D technical drawings into 3D forms with greater emphasis on precise measurements. It refers to the creative process of constructing a model in three dimensions using a dedicated software package.
As several industries have been using CAD for years, most companies find that 3D content already exists in their manufacturing process. Often you can reuse your existing 3D models to create new models, which shortens the building duration and costs involved.
CADs
Level of realism
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2. Photogrammetry
Photogrammetry is a technique for capturing an object or space in three dimensions by taking digital photos of it from several different angles and processing this image set into a single asset using dedicated software. It is becoming a more common way to create 3D models, particularly because you can capture the necessary images with a simple smartphone.
Photogrammetry creates the most precise representation of real-world items. Although it shortens the 3D model creation process, the result might be messy if you don’t use the right equipment.
A smartphone isn’t enough if you want to achieve high-quality results. You’ll perhaps need a proper studio with greenscreens and optimized setups. This means you’ll have to optimize the model manually afterwards to get greater detailing and level of realism (especially regarding textures). This will ultimately result in more costs and extend the duration of model creation.
Photogrammetry
Level of realism
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3. 3D Model from Scratch
This type of AR content creation involves using photo references and information about your existing products to build 3D models. You will need high-quality photographs using orthogonal views for this purpose. Orthogonal views are 2D views of a 3D product that just capture the shape of one side, with no perspective of the rest of the product.
For instance, suppose you want to create a 3D model of a table. You can take photos that capture the table from the back, right, front, and left sides. You can share these images as well as the exact dimensions of the table with a 3D modeler to create a model that accurately reflects the product’s size and scales according to the user’s space.
The cost and duration of building a 3D model from scratch will depend on the quality of results needed. Investing in a high-quality model is a great idea as you can actually repurpose it for product imagery, social media posts, and other kinds of content.
From Scratch
Level of realism
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How to Create Augmented Reality Content Strategy
To quickly develop and deploy high-quality AR content for your products, consider following these steps:
1. Define what goals you want to achieve with your AR.
Firstly, define what you goal with AR is. Do you want to display your products for retail consumers? Or, are you building a marketing solution planned to excite your customers about your offering? The goal will provide clear direction as to the kind of content and augmented reality creator you need for your use case, such as product configurators.
2. Determine the type of AR content you need.
In the next step, make sure which type of AR content will work best to showcase your product, depending on your budget, timelines, and level of precision needed.
3. Choose the right augmented reality creator.
Given the significance of high accuracy AR content and the effort it needs to create such content, you need a robust yet easy augmented reality creator to create AR content.
4. Decide on which devices you want to deliver your augmented reality content.
It’s critical to determine the display device used by your consumers. That’s because users will need devices that support ARCore (Android) or ARKit (iOS) to experience augmented reality. When making this crucial decision, keep your AR scaling needs in mind.
Android users will need Android 7.0 or later (some devices will need at least Android 8.0) in order for ARCore to work. Whereas, iPhone users will need devices running iOS 11.0 or later and an A9 or later processor for ARKit to work.
With VRxs, we`re offering a WebAR based platform that will support all phones mentioned above without downloading an app.
Build High-Quality AR Content with VRxs
With eCommerce becoming immersive commerce – all thanks to AR – businesses can differentiate from the competition by allowing customers to place 3D models in their physical world. Immersive product views will provide consumers with the context that is essential to creating relevant, engaging experiences that fuel their confidence to drive conversions and reduce product returns.
Don’t have 3D models yet? No worries! At VRxs, we offer a network of quality-proven 3D content and augmented reality creators that can help give your consumers the best product visualizations possible. Get in touch to learn more about how we can help your brand.