Augmented reality (AR) brings to life a world with endless digital possibilities. It lets users turn 3D models into vivid animations, sounds, and effects on a variety of desktop and mobile platforms. No wonder a lot of AR development companies appeared in the past few years.
Additionally, it allows us to interact with products without first investing in them. This makes it possible to experience putting on clothes and makeup and placing furniture in your living room without ever leaving the couch.
Let’s take a look at the industries that use AR most often and the AR development companies that will wow you with their solutions.
Augmented reality is making leeway into various industries, including healthcare, automotive, and industrial sectors.
For example, AR-powered devices provide remote assistance to industrial workers by displaying 3D CAD models in a real-world environment. Similarly, this tech can be applied in the healthcare industry to demonstrate the human body anatomy or guide doctors during advanced surgeries that require immense accuracy.
In fact, businesses worldwide are finding reasons to partner with augmented reality development companies and create solutions that promote their product or services. These solutions include:
Wearable AR: overlays holographic imagery and information onto the real world from the user’s perspective
Projected AR: combines Microsoft Kinect and digital display media panels, eliminating the need for headsets or mobile devices
Mobile AR: overlays digital imagery using mobile or tablet cameras
While AR development is not cheap and requires specialized resources that are out of reach for most software companies, it is still on the top of the list for many businesses in the industry.
Top AR development companies
We bring you a list of the top five augmented reality development companies that epitomize what augmented reality development is capable of. Let’s explore the proven expertise of these companies in the AR technology:
NEXT/NOW is an award-winning augmented reality development company from Chicago. They produce VR/AR/MR solutions for world-class brands such as Intel, Under Armour, McDonald’s, Allstate, Jeld-Wen, Chevron, NBA, Mazda, Trek, BP, Glade, LG, and Audi.
They deploy leading AR app development solutions for multi-touch surfaces, gesture-based reactive interfaces, and facial tracking. This helps connect people and businesses and create unforgettable experiences on the edge of digital and physical realities.
One of the many remarkable achievements of NEXT/NOW is AR Bonnaroo Face Paint Application for Intel. They used Intel’s RealSense technology to scan faces at 74-points and overlay face paint on them in motion, allowing users to take photos.
Groove Jones is a creative technology company known for its award-winning work in augmented reality development, Machine Learning, and Artificial Intelligence app development. They’ve partnered with the most recognized brands in the world – Amazon, AT&T, Comcast, Ford, Google, HP, IBM, Intel, Lexus, MasterCard, McDonald’s, Nestle, Samsung, Toyota, and more.
They create cutting-edge technology solutions for diverse markets with a product list that includes location-based fan engagement experiences and interactive installations, CGI and animation, 360º videos, and interactive apps. As for AR development, they use their own AR Object Toolkit 2.0 which also supports ARKit and ARCore. They also worked with AR Studio for Facebook and Lens Studio for Snapchat.
Groove Jones’ development team created an app based on the iOS ARKit platform for the world-class automotive brand Toyota. It equipped Toyota TRD Pro trucks with an exclusive AR experience. At the auto show, users could look through the features of the vehicles thanks to iPads with a special AR app.
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CemtrexLabs is a NY-based augmented reality development company that empowers brands through digital transformation services. They develop software and hardware solutions that push the boundaries of consumer, industrial, and commerce applications.
Their clients include Cartier, IWC Schaffhausen, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Montblanc, Officine Panerai, Piaget, Vacheron Constantin, Interior Define, Nameless.TV, and many more.
However, the work they did for the luxury brand Richemont is by far their most challenging and stunning AR project. They built seven unique AR experiences for Richemont’s Arcadium exhibit in only 11 weeks. These included numerous 3D models for showcasing the products as well as interrelated sound design.
CitrusBits is a mobile app development agency in LA, known for its proven AR development expertise. They work with startups and seasonal businesses to create eye-popping AR experiences for a wide range of audiences. Being one of the few mobile app development companies that provide multi-platform solutions, they offer turnkey augmented reality development services, including 3D modeling, animation, computer vision, spatial audio, and more.
CitrusBits has produced mobile apps for popular brands, including Burger King, Quiksilver, J&J, DuPont, National Geographic, UCLA, Harman Kardon, Symantec, and Sotheby’s. They also work with some notable startups, including FullyRaw, IrisVision, and The Winning Seat.
The company created three AR solutions for Zoetis – the global leader in animal health and medicine. The challenge was to make lively virtual demos for animal health diagnosis products such as Benchtop Blood and Chemistry Analyzers. The CitrusBits team designed a flexible app that allows activating AR experiences using any surface to play hyper-realistic 3D and 2D animations.
4Experience is a Polish app development agency with headquarters in Bielsko-Biala. Their services are focused on virtual and augmented reality development and offer full-stack solutions to gain a competitive advantage for their clients.
They work with small enterprises in the real estate, education, and gaming industries. But they also have some of the large companies among their clients, including Cisco, Ford, Walmart, Carrefour, Tauron, Viessmann, IKEA, and more.
In fact, 4Experience is known for creating custom digital solutions that enhance business growth with Unity 3D and Unreal engine technologies. They provide the following AR development services:
AR trivia games
AR drawing
AR tours
AR architectural presentations and product visualizations
4Experience team developed an AR-powered marketing app for SPETECH – a Polish manufacturing company. Using Vuforia and Unity 3D technologies for AR app development, they delivered an app that features a VR room, an image triggering system, and allows users to interact with the company’s product.
The future of AR development companies
As billion-dollar companies invest in AR and more people specialize in its use and applications, this technology will continue to grow. It is estimated that the value of the AR market will cross $50 billion by 2024, according to a report by Global Market Insights, Inc.
It’s no wonder that companies in the retail and e-commerce sectors are actively investing in augmented reality to improve their customers’ shopping experiences. And since the global pandemic has boosted online shopping, more retailers than ever are looking to offer online alternatives to the in-store experience.
While the gaming industry is sure to remain dominant in terms of revenues, more practical sectors like healthcare, real estate, military, engineering, and education are now willing to join the AR game as well.
In the near future, we can expect rapid growth in the number of augmented reality development companies as well as an evolution of the AR concept: new software and hardware are going to surface alongside new use cases emerging in the market. So stay tuned! Augmented reality always knows how to impress you.