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How VR and AR Will Shape the Design Industry

The proliferation of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality technology is visible in many aspects. These technologies are used by businesses to market their products more effectively. VR and AR are deepening the root in every possible industry like gaming, media, architecture and design.

Although the prognosis for VR and AR in the media industry is uncertain, this technology has shown its potential to support architects and designers who are looking to showcase their talents and transform the ways of communicating, creating and experiencing content.

The blog will reveal the status of VR and AR as well as explore how VR and AR will influence the ways of design.

Follow the Money

One of the primary reasons why VR has been ubiquitous quickly is the sharp drop in the costs of high-quality headsets. Many technology firms, such as Valve, Samsung, and Sony, have released this type of product over the past years, marking a forward step in mainstream VR. With the investment in the technology, it is certain that a virtual reality set-up will be faster, cheaper and more portable in the future.

As to designers, paying over $500 or even $800 for a virtual reality set-up is a small account compared to the returns in the future. Of course, some would say, the company later would spend more on resources related to offering virtual reality experiences. That is true, but any relevant cost in the production process will be offset by the higher returns on the tools to deliver high-quality virtual reality experiences of their projects. While VR is cheaper and AR quickly keeps up, more architecture companies will apply them in practice because of bigger profits.

Good News for the Software Market

Once technology firms notice that the design industry is the breeding ground to explore virtual reality, the software which allows designers to make good use of the technology. At present, only a few people succeed in dealing with the complicated means which are required to produce an architectural experience in VR.

Google, Autodesk, and other similar companies are now developing the software customized for VR integration. They are trying to make the designer’s jobs easier and more efficient to integrate what they know about Furniture visualization and rendering into virtual reality. And the gap in knowledge is the only obstacle that blocks the way of architects to release all the energy of the new visual technology.

Revolutionize the Design Process

As for architects and designers, VR and AR provide more immersive experiences of architectural designs and thus get the clients to WOW in the presentation. However, the real power of VR and AR goes even further, which manifests in the design process. Most architects and designers have been perfecting their workflow and feedback loop to pursue the progress of their designs. They base their judgment of the design on visual feedback so that they can best decide on how to improve it.

VR neatly satisfies their needs. It offers a kind of unprecedented visual feedback. The ability to digitally inserting the body into a tour of the virtual environment enables designers to interact with their design at utmost. They can have the most precise description of what the end product will look like during the visit. Hence, lighting, textures and physical geometry can be adjusted at any time according to the visualization. Designers would have more confidence in making decisions and save the time of prognostication.

Improve the Collaboration with Contractors

For most architectural works, the biggest disconnect occurs between the architect and the builder. If we can’t communicate the details of the building with the builders, we may see a sloppy final product to represent our design concept. But VR can bridge the gap by giving contractors a chance of exploring the whole view of the building with their own eyes.

VR and AR allow for a diversity of possibilities for design communication. Besides, the benefits do not end here. The architect can design and present three-dimensional details to the contractor, which ensures they understand the project at the same level. Such communication will become simpler as time goes on. What’s more, it will become common when the software is available for realizing this process.

There are still many different voices with regard to VR and AR. There are still more problems than solutions in their future. But if we continue to develop them along the current track, they will shape the workings of the next generation of architects and designers. And time will prove its great potential.