Seeing What’s Not There
When an architect comes up with a design, they put it on paper. That design, on paper, means a lot more to an architect than to a client. The architect has a design in their head, and when they look at their drawing, that’s what they see. The client, not being an architect, doesn’t have that advantage.
This scenario presents a hurdle that the architect has to jump over. How can they effectively communicate what is in their head to their client? Previously, architects would use a combination of their words and their drawings to show their products to their clients. Now, they often use 3D modelling, as I mentioned in another article. An emerging technology could further improve the use of 3D modeling and communication between architects and clients.
What is Augmented Reality?
Augmented reality, AR for short, is a halfway point between reality and virtual reality. As I mentioned in my 3D modeling article, we should see virtual reality paired with 3D modeling in the future. That will be fantastic for showing designs that are in process. However, customers often want to see a design in its final location. Whether that’s on an empty construction site or in their home, AR allows a customer to see a product in its final environment.
Augmented reality does this by pairing virtual reality technology with a live video feed or a photograph. AR software uses your camera and takes a 3D model and overlays it wherever your camera is looking. It places it, through your camera, in the real world at scale. So, if you’re a client, you can see the final product in your home and decide if its right for you.
Augmented Reality of the Future
Augmented reality is becoming a potent tool in the construction industry. However, like all technology, we can expect it to develop over time. Right now, it’s very difficult to have a photorealistic model or a live video feed. In the future, we should see AR seamlessly integrated with both cameras and glasses. This means that the client would see a realistic model of their product wherever they looked in real-time.
More than that, I expect that eventually, the viewer will interact with the model. As the technology develops, I believe the software will be powerful enough to allow a user to handle the model, such as opening doors, turning on lights, and interacting with the inside of a structure like it actually exists.
Conclusion
Augmented reality, combined with 3D modeling, is already a game-changer in the construction industry. In the future, we can expect that the growing technology will further integrate design and customer experience to provide a seamless view of the product. This will allow an architect to communicate their ideas to a client clearly, and using this kind of software will offer a competitive edge to anyone in the market.
