SonyaFamilies with kids heading off to college or university are gearing up now. For many of us, it’s the first time living away from home. While we map out our shopping checklists for the dorm room so many questions come into play. How big is the space? How can we make the space stylish, liveable, and efficient? Sometimes it’s hard for parents and kids to visualize the space but thankfully there are apps out there to help so we can make better decisions. Augmented reality has gone beyond the fun factor in games and have now entered into our everyday lives making them very useful tools.
What is augmented reality anyway? You’ve heard of virtual reality where you’re often wearing some big goggles and find yourself immersed in a game. Augmented Reality (AR) is different. You don’t have to use any special headgear to visualize what you’re doing. Instead, you just peer through the screen of your mobile device bringing objects and settings to life. Remember the Pokemon Go phenomenon of two years ago (actually it’s still popular) where you could go in the malls, on the sidewalks, public parks, and even museums to “catch” the pokemon through your phone? That was probably the most used AR app to date.
As mentioned, we’re finding AR’s use beyond the games. The technology can be used in various ways to help design the spaces we live in. By the way, I’ve been using an AR app to help plan out our upcoming bathroom reno. It’s amazing what these apps can do! From creating floor plans to choosing furniture and decor everything has become very convenient to visualize on devices particularly on the iPad with iOS11.
Here are a few great apps to explore:
