Paraphrasing an on-line app guru, Augmented Reality (AR) aims to make the world you already see ‘way cooler’ by enhancing and enriching the user experience of products, properties and applications interactively.
So when Pilkington Deutschland AG wanted to provide architects, builders, planners and any other interested parties with a 3D opportunity to appreciate all that glass has to offer, they developed the bespoke PilkingtonAR app, which is now available for download from Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
In contrast to Virtual Reality, AR does not depend on special VR headsets – mobile devices like tablets or smartphones work perfectly.
The app enables users to view, walk through and experience buildings from all angles while being presented with data and information on types of glass products such as specification and performance values of double and triple insulating glass units.
By combining digital information with physical reality, AR users can place an object as a 3D hologram in their environment via a mobile device, view it from all sides and make interactive changes to that object.
The first part of the app takes interested parties virtually to the German Mining Museum in Bochum, where, as part the museum’s “Hard coal” permanent exhibition, there is a pump installation equipped with a Pilkington Mirropane™ Chrome Spy mirror.
Through the PilkingtonAR App, the user can place this pump installation in a living room, garden or on a desk providing the opportunity to obtain information about technical data or detailed information about the project. In addition, it can infinitely scale an application to its actual size and even traverse it.
The second part of the app supports façade design function through which the face of a modern building can be equipped with various functional Pilkington glass products. Using a configurator, users can “install” different solar control glass types from the Pilkington Suncool™ range or use the Pilkington Activ™ self-cleaning glass. A special function is the daylight regulator, which can be used to continuously adjust the lighting situation.
With the PilkingtonAR mobile app you can interactively plan and modify a building. You can use different types of glass in a façade and assess them visually. In addition, it is even possible to simulate different lighting conditions. Try it and see for yourselves.