How Augmented Reality is Revolutionising the Design & Approvals Process for Home design and Architecture

Apple’s ground-breaking augmented reality (AR) software, ARKit, has quietly been gaining traction among savvy marketing and sales professionals since it launched in late 2017.

But industry insiders are predicting that one area the tech could prove revolutionary, is in real estate - but why, and more importantly, how?

The benefits of AR for large home-builders who rely on non-personalised, highly-specced display homes, brochures, or clunky virtual reality, to sell off-the-plan properties is obvious. But what’s set to prove really interesting, is how the tech could benefit architects.

Recently launched Realar Places is the only AR platform designed exclusively for real estate - and as the app’s co-founder, and serial tech entrepreneur Dan Swan explains, it was crafted with architects in mind.

“It’s surprising to me that in the age of technology, architects are still taking clients on-site, and using A3 pieces of paper and over-exaggerated arm gestures to communicate ideas. We wanted put cutting-edge augmented reality tech to practical use, and make architects’ sign-off process a hell of  a lot easier”.

Dan and his co-founder, Keith Ahern, set about creating an easy-to-use platform that allows plans to be dragged and dropped (from SketchUp and other popular authoring tools), then viewed on-site, life size, in real-time, using only a smartphone or tablet. In doing so, they have potentially solved one of architects’ most ancient gripes.

“This technology has the potential to be revolutionary”, explains Ben Shoot, co-founder of design firm, Urban Design Studio. “Out of the box compatibility with our 3d design tools like SketchUp and having the ability to turn 2D plans into 3D so easily from SketchUp is a game-changer”.   With deeper integrations currently  in development between Realar and common 3d design tools used for design and sales will change the way professionals design and sell in the sector.

The Realar Places platform is fully compatible with many of the popular authoring tools including Sketchup, Filmbox (.fbx), and 3DStudioMax, Unity3D and Revit.  

Realar Places is available to download now for free in the app store.