How Immersive Technology Is Powering The Customer-first Agenda

• digital
• technology

A consumer sits at home and puts together the nuts and bolts of a DIY cabinet in a couple of deft moves using a Web3D guide from the manufacturer. Elsewhere a warehouse manager, ably assisted by augmented reality (AR), makes an informed decision about which forklift model will best fit their space by superimposing the product in an image of their actual warehouse. A procurement team makes a similar purchase decision between a choice of security cameras for their establishment, based on a graphic visualisation of how the camera will use motion sensors to give them a comprehensive view of the facility.

What links these increasingly commonplace scenarios is the meteoric proliferation of Web3D, AR and virtual reality (VR) - key components of several immersive technology experiences. Immersive technologies are not new to us; we are familiar with gaming environments, for instance. However, their rapid adoption certainly is, accelerated in part by the distance the recent years of the pandemic forced upon us the world over.

Immersive technology helps unlock value in one keyway - by helping everyone from C Suite executives to the frontline and certainly consumers as well, to Visualise in real-time. This enables building faster solutions, from anywhere. By simulating and augmenting physical environments and experiences in a digital space – engaging users naturally, in a blended reality. Inspired by our customer-first approach, we at Godrej, engineer these experiences to enable decisions, elevate customer experiences, build enduring capabilities in our teams through training, and deliver efficiency at scale.

For instance, when Godrej & Boyce introduced the motion-tracking Spotlight range of cameras, the tech team used the product’s 3D source files to create an interactive experience for consumers visiting the website. The experience was designed to not just show the camera and its features, but also let the consumer control the movement of the lens by manipulating their cursor. Essentially, the Web3D technology let users take control of the way they interacted with the product and the angle at which they wanted to view it. The immersive experience mimicked how the camera could perform in an actual live scenario. By enabling a real-time output where movement is synchronised with the product, the user was brought closer to the actual experience than ever before.

In another use-case, the team at Godrej & Boyce wanted their interactions with customers to be more experiential than information-led. The result was a transformation of the static catalogue to a more intuitive and responsive one that enables users to visualise the application scenarios of different kinds of paver blocks across buildings, bridges, and roads. With the options of combining scenarios of their choice with the product they are interested in, potential customers can now make far more informed choices about the aesthetics, product composition and applicability. The all-new technology uses Web3D to give consumers an almost tactile experience of the product including the way it looks from all angles and even its texture. In addition, augmented reality (AR) lets users place the product on real-world pavements to see for themselves what the final application could look like.

The immersive technologies are making a strong impact on internal processes, helping deliver greater precision – therefore ensuring only the highest quality of products reach customers. Our teams have to routinely follow complex instructions to put components together, necessitating an in-person setting where instructions can be imparted and supervised to ensure that the correct procedure is followed. In a recent development, the team leveraged Web3D tools to help create an immersive guide for operators to follow instructions remotely, with ease. The earlier scenario of having to follow text instructions and imagine orientations and angles while riveting, has now been replaced to deliver unprecedented efficiency.

These scenarios and several more being adopted across industry, demonstrate the transformational change that we are at the cusp of by leveraging immersive technologies. We are still in the nascent stage and early adopters among businesses will likely see the outsized benefits that immersive technologies can deliver in several areas including customer delight and operational efficiency.