Augmented Shopping Trolley to give Customers Insight into their Favourite Foods
Own a smartphone? You're not in the minority, and you'll probably have a home screen full of cool apps too. Mobile technology is mainstream, and it's already redefining the way we shop, whether we want access to deals and discounts, or a handy virtual shopping list.
Working its way into the status quo, too, is a technology called augmented reality (AR). Not to be confused with virtual reality, which requires immersive, futuristic-looking headsets, AR makes static images come to life.
Kaan Aydogmus, founder of Magnetic London (the multi-disciplinary design agency specialising in augmented reality) explains the concept and application behind this technology...
"Via a free-to-use smartphone app, printed material such as labels and posters can host hidden layers of digital content, from videos and games to recipes and money-off vouchers.
Think about your weekly grocery shop. Do you casually throw items into your trolley without a second thought or do you want to know about the ingredients, which farm your milk has come from, or how many air miles your satsumas have clocked up?
We are becoming ever more discerning about the choices we make at the supermarket, as many of us strive to make healthy changes to our diets.
A number of UK supermarkets have already turned to AR to spice up grocery shopping. Asda teamed up with chocolate giant Mars to create an augmented reality penalty shoot out game that allowed customers to compete for the chance to win a signed football shirt.
Tesco went a step further and designed their own AR app, enabling shoppers to scan a Tesco Discover logo on products and view how-to videos for their favourite recipes.
And Chinese e-commerce company Yihaodian, recently bought by American retail giant Walmart, has been filling iconic sites in Beijing and Shanghai with augmented reality 'virtual stores'. Scan the walls of the Forbidden City with a smartphone loaded with an app such as Layar, and up pops a digital grocery store, which allows you to walk through virtual aisles and browse virtual shelves, buy items and have them delivered home.
As you can see, augmented reality is not a new concept - but, as Yihaodian's virtual shopping experience suggests, it's about to become more than just a promotional gimmick.
Imagine being able to walk the supermarket aisles and browse the shelves without leaving your living room.
Or if you're feeling uninspired about what to cook for dinner, before long you'll be able to hover your smartphone over a bag of pasta and watch a video of a chef taking you through the steps to whip up a delicious dish. Or scan cupboard staples, such as a jar of tomato sauce, to reveal meal suggestions and different dishes the product could be used in.
If augmented reality's popularity continues to rise, it won't be long before we're all waving our smartphones every time we pick up a can of baked beans."
Kaan Aydogmus