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AR isn’t one technology but a convergence of several that came before it. They include everything from computer vision to AI to 3D modeling. And just as it borrows from other tech, it also gives back. In AR’s current era, it’s being applied to everything from gaming to productivity.
One of those areas that continues to develop is brick & mortar commerce. This extends from the benefits that AR has demonstrated in eCommerce, such as virtual try-ons. In physical retail, AR materializes in related but different ways — both business-facing and user-facing.
Business-facing applications include digital twins of store interiors that help retailers optimize spaces for optimal foot traffic and product placement. And customer-facing applications include in-store wayfinding and informational overlays on products and store shelves.
We examined such possibilities in Part 1 of this series, featuring Augmodo. Among other things, it takes inspiration (and pedigree) from the way that Pokémon Go crowdsources Spatial maps. It equips store associates with wearable sensors to passively capture Spatial maps.
Cross-Polinated Insights
Building from that Augmodo analysis, we now switch gears to another player at the intersection of AR, AI, and retail commerce: Auki Labs. The company has historically developed a few key underlying technologies in AR, such as spatially-anchored content and multi-user interaction.
Auki’s latest endeavor combines that underlying tech with a few new directions and developments. Like Augmodo, it unlocks the ability to spatially map retail interiors using commodity hardware and simple cameras. From there, data can be assembled for several purposes and endpoints.
One valuable outcome, according to Auki CEO Nils Pihl, is retail optimization. Digital twins can help retailers optimize store layouts for optimal flow and profitability. Also involving merchandising (where to place products), this advances the traditional field of retail yield maximization.
AI can also work in tandem with spatial data to inform store associates in their daily jobs. That can include things like restocking alerts so that stores don’t lose revenue due to out-of-stock items. All the above can be further unlocked through partnerships and data integrations.
For example, a partnership with Akuret will reveal action items that boost retail revenue by eliminating sales “blockers.” Altogether, Auki wants to mingle its data with myriad sources — everything from CRM to IOT to POS inventory systems — to unlock cross-pollinated insights.
Convergence of Acronyms
Stepping back, all the above flows from one central concept, says Pihl: linking AI to the real world. If you think about it, AI’s advancement and investment have been meaningful but limited. That’s simply because the technology mostly lives within the domain of online/digital knowledge.
That begs the question: Could AI’s real value be unlocked when it’s unleashed on the physical world? This could play out in many ways, from enterprise digital twins to consumer life hacks. To be fair, this isn’t totally new, as it sits at the center of high-stakes efforts like Nvidia’s Omniverse.
That brings us full circle to the convergence of acronyms. Beyond AR and AI, we’re talking IOT (as noted), computer vision, and decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN). That last one isn’t a household name yet, but it’s one of the practical things to flow from web3.
Expect to hear more about DePIN and Auki Labs in the coming months. Meanwhile, Auki’s work is a good example of the convergence of AR and AI that everyone in the Spatial sector talks about. The most valuable applications at that intersection will be practical and ROI-driven.
Header image credit: Philippe Yuan on Unsplash
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