EverythingYou'veAlwaysWantedtoKnowAboutOurARBuildAssist...

Everything You've Always Wanted to Know About Our AR Build Assist...

After we won an FWA Of The Day with the Augmented Reality Build Assist, FWA approached us to share some insights. The AR Build Assist is a case study from our Demodern Lab that aims to make product assembly as easy and comfortable as possible. Augmented Reality redefines traditional instruction manuals and becomes a pioneer for successful DIY furniture assembly.

What did you aim to achieve with the project?

Shortly before the announcement of the ARKit release for iOS 11, we identified a gap in the customer experience journey when setting up homes that we wanted to fill. Soon after, we knew what we wanted to do: make product or furniture assembly as easy and comfortable as possible with Augmented Reality.

What technical challenges did you face and how did you solve them?

Although Augmented Reality was first mentioned back in 1990, ARKit and its technology were still very new and not fully developed at the launch of our case study. The occlusion of natural light and the recognition of surface planes were already great, but unfortunately, real objects—be it a cat or a hammer—were not yet easily recognized. Therefore, the AR model highlights which part is relevant and which tool should be used to help avoid mistakes.

What does winning an FWA Award mean to you?

We are big fans of the FWA community and aim to one day achieve "100 FWA Of Days." We also appreciate the reach and visibility that we gain with our work on the platform.

Tools we used:

We started the initial prototyping with Google Tango (RIP) and then began anew with the ARKit version. The prototype was fully conceptualized in Unity. This way, the performance of the 3D assistant animations was directly and seamlessly connected with the app's user interface and functions.

Three hot facts:
  • The modular IKEA KALLAX shelf can be assembled in less than 10 minutes.
  • Assembling furniture with your partner doesn't have to end in an argument.
  • Pets can't eat virtual instruction manuals (but still watch out for your phone)...
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