Augmented reality may not have an obvious application in your day to day life. After all, unless you’re playing Pokémon Go all the live-long day, it doesn’t seem as though there are many opportunities for you to bring virtual objects into your real world. But that could all change today. Beginning March 20, folks with Android smartphones enabled with ARCore will be able to leverage augmented reality technology in order to help (re)design their homes. It’s all thanks to a new AR feature called “View in Your Space,” courtesy of Lowe’s.
The latest functionality to be added to the Lowe’s app, View in Your Space helps buyers see what appliances, furniture, and other products might look in their homes before actually making their purchases. This, the home improvement store, might help cut down on instances of folks buying big-ticket items, only to realize that said items don’t fit quite as well in their overall vision as expected. With View in Your Space, customers will be able to place lifelike, size-accurate items from Lowe’s spring catalog into their outdoor spaces to ensure that what you’re seeing in a magazine will look just as good in real life. Because truly, seeing is believing.
In order to use the new function, users will need to tap on the “View in Your Space” option while looking through products in the Lowe’s apps. Then, you’ll be prompted to scan your surroundings, then wait just a couple seconds as the object of your choice appears in augmented reality. From there, you’ll be able to drag and drop your patio furniture, grill, or anything in between to the desired location.
View in Your Space will also allow you to actually walk around the AR version of the product, looking at it from different angles, all while it remains scaled to size and in your preferred location. If you decide that you like what you see, you’ll be able to purchase the item by clicking an icon located in the lower right-hand corner of the screen.
Lowe’s notes that each year, problems with visualization and a lack of design assistance prevent the completion of some $70 billion in home improvement projects. But View in Your Space just may help get your next design venture underway.
