1. VR tours for Real Estate

With the increasing need for convenience, more and more real estate companies have been turning to Virtual Reality(VR) tours for their customers. One such application that the companies are using to turn their showcases into online tours is Transported. Transported allows real estate companies to capture their real-life spaces into virtual environments for their customers to interact with using VR equipment.

Transported: Virtual Reality for Real Estate from Transported VR on Vimeo.

Why I like it?

It allows people to view the estates in the comfort of their own homes which allows people to save time and money as compared to doing in-person house tours. Furthermore, with this application, people can easily view multiple estates they like in one seating instead of booking multiple appointments which may span over several days. Thus, this also helps to save the customers’ time and effort in comparison to in-person house tours.

Why is it engaging?

People are able to have a 360 degree view of the house which makes them feel like they are in the environment of the real estate that they are interested in. They are also able to move from room to room with ease by clicking which makes the viewing experience to be seamless and allows them to better know the character of the house.

What features are done well?

One feature that is done well is that the user is able to open up a menu that lists down the different rooms/floors in the house which the user is then able to go by clicking on them. This allows the user to go to the room/floor that they want to view the most without wasting time.

Another feature that is done well is that the companies are able to add points of interests or descriptions to the furniture in the virtual environment. Therefore, customers are able to understand the different selling points of the estate even with the absence of a real estate agent. This feature also allows customers to better understand the various designs of the house before making an in-person house tour or purchasing the real estate.

What features can be improved?

One feature that they can improve is the ambience of the virtual tour by adding sounds. They could have recorded the audio when they were creating the VR tour to make it more immersive. This would also allow the customers to better understand the atmosphere of the estate in addition to the visuals of the environment.

Another feature that they can improve on is to convert it into a 3D environment where people are able to move through the estate via walking. This would have further engage the customers when they are viewing the property.

The last feature they could improve one is to add a chatbot function where people can ask/type their questions to. This allows the chatbot to act as a real estate agent that is answering their queries which will further improve the virtual tour.

References

• Virtual reality tours for real estate. Transported. (n.d.). Retrieved January 19, 2023, from https://www.transported.co/
• Top 40 XR/AR use cases / applications with examples in 2023. AIMultiple. (n.d.). Retrieved January 19, 2023, from https://research.aimultiple.com/ar-use-cases/

2. Using AR for makeup

When it comes to choosing makeup, it may be a hassle for some as they have to test every colour in order to find something that suits them. Some may even skip this process which results in them purchasing a wrong colour. Hence, in order to combat this problem, Sephora has turned to creating an AR application, dubbed their virtual artist, to allow customers to put on makeup without even going down to their store.

Why I like it?

It allows people to try different shades of makeup even without going down to the store which helps to save time and effort. Furthermore, people are also able to try on various types makeup without the tedious process of putting it on and wiping it off.

Why is it engaging?

Since the makeup is a layover on the face, it helps people to visualise what they look like as if they are trying it on in real life. They also able to change the shade of the makeup easily with a tap of a finger hence making the application a very interactive one which engages the audience.

What features are done well?

One feature that is done well is that the application allows people to try out different shades of the same makeup, e.g lipstick, via shaking the phone. This introduces an engaging way for people to try out different kinds of brands and styles when buying their makeup.

Another feature that is done well is they are able to take up to 4 photos with different shades of makeup for comparison. As humans, we may tend to forget how the shade of makeup may have looked and thus, we may have a hard time comparing. Therefore, with this feature, it allows customers to compare the makeup they want almost instantaneously which helps the increase the engagingness of the application.

What features can be improved?

One feature they could improve is adding the texture as well as the smell of the makeup. Although the shade may look good on an individual however, the texture of the makeup may not be as pleasing. Additionally, the smell of the makeup may also affect an individual’s decision in purchasing a particular makeup.

Another feature they can improve on is to allow people to layover multiple layers of makeup, e.g lipstick and eyeshadow, so they can compare which types of makeup can go well together. This will further enhance the usability of the application as most people wear two or more types of makeup together.

References

• YouTube. (2016, February 3). Sephora Virtual artist app. YouTube. Retrieved January 19, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFApcSocFDM&ab_channel=MultiVu
• Gilliland, N. (2021, May 12). 14 examples of augmented reality brand experiences. Econsultancy. Retrieved January 19, 2023, from https://econsultancy.com/14-examples-augmented-reality-brand-marketing-experiences/