Augmented reality (AR) has been popping up here and there for a while now, with the likes of Snapchat using the technology more recently with users’ avatars appearing in front of them and playing out fun scenarios. Our personal favourite is the conductor scenario – find it and enjoy…
We decided that it was time for us to augment our festivities and created a Christmas-themed AR scene for our agency Christmas cards. Coming soon to a client near you…
Now, here’s where it gets technical:
Augmented reality has made its way to the web with the help of some useful JavaScript libraries. AR.JS is a library that has been built to add AR functionality to websites, removing the app requirement as a barrier for this technology. We used it alongside A-Frame (a web framework for creating AR and VR experiences) to create a seasonal scene with a Christmas tree and presents, along with falling snow to really top it off.
We then hid this scene inside a coded Christmas tree image. When someone visits our dedicated page and points their phone or laptop camera in its direction, everything comes to life. Try it for yourself and point your phone at the Christmas tree image (see below). It will look better when it’s lying flat, so you could even try printing it off for the full effect.
Other than creating interactive Christmas cards – which seems like a perfect use of the technology to us – the possibilities are endlessly exciting and excitingly endless. For example, take a peek at a fun use of AR at a restaurant, distracting diners while they wait for their food.
It’s certainly food for thought on how this technology can be used to elevate brand experiences, and isn’t that what we’re all trying to do?
We’d like to wish a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all of us at Connecting Element. We can’t wait to see everything new that comes to digital marketing in 2018… We hope you’ll join us every step of the way.