As the world becomes more and more dependant on the digital world thanks to the launch of the 5G network, mobiles phones become ever more powerful and thanks to Covid-19 our tastes for the unexpected are rising. Are people getting bored of simply scrolling their social media feeds, waiting for their next set of "likes" to appear in their notification panel? Big brand such as IKEA and Snapchat are taking the technology we use every day and making the most of the superpowered chips, wires and circuit boards inside by making the physical world around us drastically change. Let's explore these further.
IKEA and their newest project, Everyday Experiments, is a collaboration with IKEA and some of their creative studios such as STUDIO 10, working to create an experience that makes us look at the space in our homes differently. Using different “Experiments”, three of which we know are called “Point and Repair”, “Extreme Measures” and “Technocarpenter”. The first allowing you to find out how to repair a piece of furniture your camera is pointing at allowing you to order spare parts. The second being more playful. This one uses LiDAR to fill the spaces in your home with inflatable elephants to make you view all of the space you actually have available in your home. The third, “Technocarpenter” which allows you to build your own chair using both augmented and virtual reality by simply moving your hand and machine learning.
This project and its innovation inspired me. The notion that IKEA has taken a technically advanced approach to how we view, interact and think about the space in our homes, which due to Covid-19 are more important than ever before, gives us a glimpse into what the future of technology could be. That is if this project ever is ever truly realised and becomes available for the general public to download.
The second, created by Snapchat, an application that first made the public aware of augmented reality in the first place, is called Local Lenses: City Painter. This seems to be a project that has a base and concept similar to that of Everyday Experiments, where they are creating a variety of new AR software experiences under the same project name of Local Lenses. The feature, for now, is only available on Carnaby Street, London. Snapchat users were able to fill Carnaby Street with colourful graffiti art using the City Painter feature. What makes this a game-changer is the fact that each user will be able to see the graffiti of the other users on the street to live as they’re created. This kind of feature enables a kind of competitive spirit within the Snapchat community. Could we create this kind of collaborative experience in the market? Could we, in the digital realm, augment the stall/Piazza shop using colour and graphic elements?
The fact that these two brands are focusing their time, energy and profits into the creation and experimentation of these experiences shows me that augmented reality is only projected to grow in the coming years. I personally, find the IKEA experience to be the most innovative of the two and I believe has the longevity power due to its functionality for people, however, being the giant organisation that IKEA is, how long will it take for this project to be released and will technology had already moved beyond what this project was aiming to be a leader in? Making the project obsolete. Will the Snapchat City Painter be simply a flash in the pan once the novelty has worn off?
Whether these two experiences become staple home improvement tools or the next competitive sports experience or not, they are blazing the trail for the future of technology and in that respect, design too. Undertaking this challenge of creating an augmented reality experience has allowed me to become aware of what is going on outside of my creative specialism, which in turn is teaching me about the direction that business is going in, the most common route being augmented reality. The question is, how will the design and creative community change with this new direction?
References and Figure List:
Fig 01
WIRED. (2020). Everyday experiments. [Image].
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/ikea-and-space10-digital-experiments.
Fig 02
WIRED. (2020). Everyday experiments. [Image].
Fig 03
WIRED. (2020). Everyday experiments. [Image].
Fig 04
WIRED. (2020). Everyday experiments. [Image].
Fig 05
WIRED. (2020). Snapchat has turned London into an augmented reality experiment. [Image]. https://www.wired.co.uk/article/snapchat-launches-local-lenses?utm_medium=applenews&utm_source=applenews.
Fig 06
WIRED. (2020). Snapchat has turned London into an augmented reality experiment. [Image]. https://www.wired.co.uk/article/snapchat-launches-local-lenses?utm_medium=applenews&utm_source=applenews.
Bedingfield, W. (2020). Snapchat has turned London into an augmented reality experiment. WIRED UK. https://www.wired.co.uk/article/snapchat-launches-local-lenses?utm_medium=applenews&utm_source=applenews.
Lee, A. (2020). IKEA’s AR experiments show the potential of Apple Glass. WIRED UK. https://www.wired.co.uk/article/ikea-and-space10-digital-experiments.
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