Augmented Design

  • Home
  • Augmented Design
Kaalo AR VR
How did Kaalo morph into a technology and design company?
18 January 2023

How did Kaalo morph into a technology and design company? A classic Industrial Design team from the early 1990s with an open mind to the changing times and complicated client needs. Hardware design was not enough with the world of software taking over. Kaalo embraced software design and development to offer comprehensive solutions to clients. It was the explosion of social media, gaming and the virtual space that changed the face of product experiences and customer expectations. Kaalo got ahead of this macro trend back in 2017 by using Industrial Design techniques to Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality for solutions that served real world business needs. In 2020, when Covid hit, Kaalo’s remote AR based technical support solution was a “must have” for our clients. Now in 2023, Kaalo is recognized as one of the top AR companies offering a wide range of well designed, robust, secure solutions for a variety of industries including Electronics, Housewares, Retail, Health and Education.

#design #industrialdesign #augmentedreality #DesignAndTechnology #KaaloAR #team

Kaalo AR offerings
18 January 2023

Kaalo has augmented reality solutions for a wide variety of business needs including Customer Support, Training & Education, Sales & Marketing, Design & Development, Presentations and Demos. Our clients win awards with our AR solutions. Contact us: 805.630.8267, [email protected]
#ARforBusinessExcellence#ARforCustomerSupport#ARforSales#ARforMarketing

AR Smartphones vs Headsets Graph
Why Smartphones are the Preferred AR Tool over Headsets
04 May 2022

Recently, there’s been an industry push for innovation in augmented reality to create more user-friendly interactions. While AR entertainment applications like Pokémon Go have enjoyed great success, AR tools have yet to be developed that could solve some of the problems for which it is well-suited — making things like GPS walking directions, fixing an appliance or shopping safer and more efficient. What is holding AR back?

The Impracticality of AR Headsets

A hands-free option (like a wearable headset) seems like the best option. But unfortunately, after many years of research and development by a multitude of companies, AR headset technology is still complex and cost-prohibitive, keeping it impractical for widespread use. According to Ben Kuchera, everything from price to complicated cables to the way they can mess up your hair keeps the general population from warming to the VR/AR headset concept. AR headsets are still a long way away from being lightweight, cable-less and affordable. But, the AR technology is there.

Smartphones’ Prevalence Makes Them Perfect for AR.

Most adults already carry smartphones. A recent census notes that 84 percent of households have at least one smartphone. As a realistic avenue for disseminating augmented reality, companies have been focusing on beefing up the AR capabilities of their phones. The goal is a highly sophisticated AR experience delivered through a device we already own, making the technology ubiquitous and accessible around the world. AR applications can project walking directions, instructions for fixing a laptop or information on a new product right onto the object or image through the phone.

This is why Kaalo is focusing on AR solutions for iOS and Android devices and has become the preferred partner for several large Fortune 500 companies. Kaalo‘s team of industrial designers, mechanical engineers, UI/UX experts and software developers create augmented reality experiences that function seamlessly with millimeter accuracy — an experience that can be easily delivered to devices most people already own. Experience it first-hand here.

Kaalo AR Magic
Why Kaalo is the Perfect Design Team for Augmented Reality
27 April 2022

Industrial designers focus on all aspects of a product’s development: design, usability and function; an astute designer is always looking for ways to improve the consumer’s interaction with a product. Augmented reality, with its capability of interfacing with our real 3-D world, does just that — it eases our experience. Industrial designers are a natural fit for developing AR interactions that require a deep knowledge of the product as well as the ability to intuit what the user will need to see and hear.

How Digital Content is Changing

Thus far, we have mostly consumed digital content on 2-D screens. When faced with a “How-To,” we refer to instructions on a website, in an app or perhaps as a PDF manual. In those situations, we shift our attention back and forth between the directions and the product we are trying to learn about, set up or fix. Augmented reality exists in a 3-D environment; information is overlaid directly onto the product. Because industrial designers think and design in 3-D, they are a natural fit for creating seamless AR experiences.

Why Industrial Designers are a Natural Fit to Design AR Experiences

A designer’s entire process depends upon knowing how a user will interact with a product and what will make that experience easy and intuitive. Now, designers are out to make a wide range of products more intuitive with augmented reality. They’ll create apps that enable you to fix your own laptop, toaster or car with step-by-step instructions overlayed right onto your device. Creating AR experiences on a physical laptop requires a thorough understanding of the mechanics of the product — how the device opens, how cables and screws are disconnected, etc. A mistake could damage the device, so in creating the AR instructions, a designer’s grasp of the design is critical. When this extensive product knowledge is combined with creative augmented reality and software execution, the results are magical.

Kaalo’s Unique Team of AR Creators

Kaalo is a unique team comprised of industrial designers, mechanical engineers, UI/UX experts, and software developers — all co-creating augmented reality experiences that function seamlessly with millimeter accuracy. Take a look at Kaalo’s profile on DesignRush to see why Fortune 500 companies use Kaalo for AR solutions. Experience it first-hand here.

augmented reality repair
Right to Repair: How Augmented Reality Can Help
29 March 2022
Augmented reality apps can walk you through repairs.

Right to Repair refers to proposed legislation that would make it realistic for any repair shop or even an average consumer to fix an electronic device. Right now, it is technically legal to fix your own phone or laptop, but as Thorin Klosowski in The New York Times Wirecutter points out, something being legal doesn’t necessarily mean it’s possible. In recent history, many electronics manufacturers have kept the necessary tools and information to repair their products under close guard. In order for someone to replace a battery in a smartphone, for instance, they need access to diagnostics, instructions (possibly using augmented reality), parts and tools.

What We Need to Make Right to Repair Work

Firstly, products have to be designed to be repaired. You have to be able to open the outer casing without breaking it, for example. Microsoft improved the repairability of their Surface Laptop 3 simply by rearranging a few of the inner parts, proving that such a move doesn’t necessarily mean a design overhaul. In addition, as consumers, we’ll need to shift our approach to shopping for products, taking the feasibility of repair into consideration. To this end, France has developed a repairability index to help people identify how easily a product can be fixed. Next, we need the tools to make fixes practical for the average repair shop or end-user. That’s where augmented reality (AR) comes in.

How Augmented Reality Can Make Swapping Out Parts Easier

Most of us would be intimidated by the idea of opening up a laptop to replace a battery, but imagine you had an expert standing over your shoulder, patiently walking you through each step. That’s what AR technology can do. It can overlay digital information onto your real device, giving you step-by-step instructions at your own pace, without the need to shift your attention between written instructions and the device. There are a lot of advantages to this approach:

  • It’s less expensive for the end-user who doesn’t have to buy a new device.
  • It leads to greater accuracy in repairs than written or even video instructions can.
  • It’s low cost to the manufacturer, who doesn’t have to use human technicians or publish and update written manuals
  • It’s better for the environment, keeping more electronics in use and out of the landfill.

The best thing is, this technology already exists in an accessible way. You can use your smartphone to walk you through replacing a cracked screen or battery. Here’s an app, being considered by several major tech companies, that shows how AR instruction can work: KAR on the App Store; KAR on Google Play.


It’s not limited to electronics. AR repair could realistically extend the life of everything from your toaster to your vehicle, reducing costs for manufacturers and consumers and producing less waste. 

augmented reality and healthcare
What Augmented Reality Can Do for Healthcare
11 March 2022

Augmented reality’s ability to integrate digital information with the real-world environment has the potential to enhance and improve healthcare in a variety of groundbreaking ways. Diagnosis, telehealth visits and surgeries all stand to benefit from increased accuracy and efficiency, and AR is already been integrated into healthcare in some places. AR is expected to generate $1,918.6 million in the healthcare market by 2026. (Research Dive)

Collecting Blood Samples with Augmented Reality

If you’ve ever had your blood drawn, you may have experienced the phlebotomist struggling to find a vein. The hit-and-miss of this procedure can be painful, time-consuming and stressful for both parties. At AccuVein, a medical device company, they use AR technology to convert the heat signature of veins into an image. That image is then superimposed onto the patient’s skin, making the vein easier to find the first time. (Harvard Business Review, 2019)

Augmented Reality in the Operating Room

Imagine a surgery in which information is projected directly onto the patient without physicians having to move their attention to a monitor or another team member for updates. Microsoft Hololens 2 does just this, allowing the surgeon to keep both hands on the procedure. These hands-free solutions, according to Deloitte Research, will transform the healthcare business model. Automatic external defibrillator (AED) location is an emergency application for AR outside of the operating room. Using an app on a smartphone, anyone can see locations of the nearest AEDs overlayed onto the environment.

AR in Telehealth and Diagnosis

The number of telemedicine visits increased dramatically during the pandemic, and AR can improve this experience as well. With augmented reality, patients and care providers can draw and annotate on a 3-D screen. When combined with machine learning algorithms, AR can help detect diseases such as cancer. Google’s 2020 announcement for an AR-based microscope for the Department of Defense is just such an example. Real-time camera images are processed with computer diagnostics to diagnose disease at an early stage. (mobidev.biz)

AR can help a patient understand how a drug work in their body without sifting through complicated medical texts. It could even help students learn about the human body in a highly interactive and engaging 3-D format. There are many more applications for augmented reality in healthcare; this is just the tip of the iceberg.

More on Augmented Reality

What is Augmented Reality?

How Augmented Reality Will Change Shopping

How Augmented Reality Will Revolutionize Manufacturing

Explore products in the context of your own home with AR.
How Augmented Reality Will Change Shopping
03 March 2022

Augmented reality (AR), the technology that superimposes digital information on a real-world environment, will change the way we shop for everything from laptops to furniture to shoes. Several companies have rolled out their own versions of AR shopping. Alibaba’s app Taobao Buy allows shoppers to interact with a select range of products online. Amazon’s AR view feature lets us see a product in our home before purchasing it. Both Target and Ikea have made use of AR so that consumers can try out furniture in their homes ahead of ordering it. Statista predicts the AR market will reach $198 billion in 2025, and the number of AR mobile users will reach 3.5 billion this year alone. But “try before you buy” isn’t the only application for AR in retail.

Store Mapping

Large warehouse spaces and shopping malls can use AR to direct both consumers and employees in 3D real-time. Directions are given step-by-step and superimposed over the actual space’s image through a smartphone camera. Consumers can find what they need and make purchases more quickly. And with the increased use of “buy online pick up in-store,” AR store mapping can increase employees’ efficiency in finding products to pull.

Virtual Fitting Rooms

Trying out products virtually before purchase isn’t limited to blenders and sofas. Both Target and Sephora are using AR to allow customers to test products such as makeup, glasses and shoes. This application works both in-store and from the comfort of the shopper’s home. The AR experience in-store is becoming even more compelling with the evolution of smart mirror technology. The virtual fitting room market, valued at $3.5 billion in 2021, is predicted to reach $12.97 billion by 2028. (Fortune Business Insights, 2021)

Product Exploration

So a potential buyer can see how that bedroom suite will look in their specific bedroom using AR technology just by pointing a smartphone’s camera at the space. But what about specs, opening the drawers of the nightstand, or weight capacities? AR overlays information directly onto the image. You can open drawers, look inside, see information about each individual piece. Exploring the capabilities and interiors of furniture, vehicles and appliances can all be done virtually, making both product investigation and, as a business, showcasing your own wares to clients easy and accessible from anywhere.

The bottom line with AR technology and shopping? It makes it easier and less expensive. If you can try a recliner in your space before you have it shipped to you, everyone saves on shipping costs, fossil fuels and labor. If you have step-by-step directions projected into your environment, you save time by not getting lost. Shopping experiences will change dramatically with the application of augmented reality. They already are.

Sources:

Aimagazine.com, mobidev.biz, fortunebusinessinsights.com, statista.com

smart packaging
Smart Packaging
29 July 2020

You walk through the aisles of a grocery store, and two different boxes of cereal catch your eye. Instead of pulling them down off the shelf, holding them side-by-side to compare them, you simply point your phone at each one. The ingredients, nutritional information, expiration date and allergy warnings appear on-screen, overlaying the image of the box. You have all of the information about the products – that which is printed on the box and more – complete with video and animation possibilities. Imagine pointing your phone at a box of pasta and instantly accessing videos of recipes in which it can be used.  

The advantages of such packaging isn’t mere convenience. It allows people with limited mobility to easily access product information. People who are visually impaired can hear text spoken aloud via headset. In warehouse stores, with towering shelves, shoppers can point their phones at items on the top shelf and learn about them without having to wait for assistance. It also means less handling of products, making shopping a more hygienic experience. All of this is possible with augmented reality. 

https://kaalo.com//

What IS Augmented Reality?
13 June 2020

Augmented Reality (AR) is an interactive experience in which digital information enhances your real-world experience in real-time. Think of looking out at the world, through a headset and seeing words overlaying your surroundings telling you about what you see. You can even experience it on your smartphone or television. The NFL uses AR when they project the moving first-down line over the real-world game.  

In airports or large office buildings, with the help of beacons, you could use an AR map, looking through your phone as arrows are overlaid onto your path. Virtual shopping, with the help of AR, allows you to scan a space and place virtual furniture in the digital image of the room to try before you buy.  

Another exciting application for AR is healthcare. Medical students can train in AR, and surgeons can practice and plan procedures. A multitude of professions can use AR to make new employee training more effective and efficient. Technicians can use AR overlays on real equipment to help them with repairs. 

AR, like many technologies, has been pioneered in gaming, but the real-world application for it goes way beyond that into an exciting era in which it can truly augment our abilities to work and work well.