Will Augmented Reality Surpass Virtual Reality in Usability for the Homebuilding Industry?

Virtual reality was first created in the 1970’s, but did not really start to take off until 2010 when VR hardware became more available. In more recent years, a trip to Best Buy would easily convince any skeptic that VR is taking off. Lines to try the latest headset would be at minimal a few people deep at any time and on any day of the week. While the inclination is to think of VR users as the loner teenager holed up in his bedroom, a study by Ford Motor Company and Trendwatching.com reported that women gamers over 55 spend more time online gaming than males that are aged 15-24. Outside of the gaming industry, VR is booming with applications in mental health, the military and the home building industry. Industries are finding new and very exciting uses for virtual reality which has only fueled the growth of VR. There is no doubt that virtual reality is finding its way into plenty of use cases, but will augmented reality be bigger?

Senior Manager of Graphics and Media at BDX, Andrew Peacock says, “Definitely. Augmented reality does something their virtual reality cannot, it allows buyers to engage in a shared virtual experience and interact with the environment at the same time.” Augmented reality is also more accessible than virtual reality because most of us have a smart phone and can download an app within seconds, a factor that lowers the barrier to entry drastically.

BDX has already developed augmented reality solutions that are proving to be a practical use case for the building industry. The augmented reality app that Andrew Peacock and team have created drops a virtual home plan on an empty lot allowing buyers to use an iPad to walk through the home together on their lot. The concept really comes together when they are able to look through their bedroom window and see exactly where the sun will set each evening. While virtual reality as a technology has come further along than augmented reality in terms of the realistic quality of the imagery, the interaction aspect, adaptation to the environment and access is likely to fuel adoption even further. To see a sneak peak of the BDX augmented reality solutions, click here. Stay connected with BDX for all the details.

About the Author

Alaina Latiolais is currently the Marketing Manager and HBA Partnership Program Manager for Builder’s Digital Experience. She previously worked as a Digital Marketing Consultant for BDX working with builders of all sizes in the Austin, San Antonio and Corpus Christi markets. Finding her love for B2B marketing, she now helps educate home builders about marketing and technology and understanding the digital consumer. Alaina has over a decade of experience working with small, medium and large businesses on their marketing strategies, always with a strong focus on the latest technology and results. She has a practical approach that saddles between warm and daring, always challenging businesses to take the next step to adopt new technology and ideas.

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