Lifestyle / Gadgets

BMW i Augmented Reality Visualizer: First application by BMW, provides a tour of new car before you purchase it

Following a successful pilot, the BMW i Augmented Reality Visualizer—the world’s first automotive app to use Google’s Tango 3D AR technology—is now live on Google Play for anyone to download.

Feb 26, 2017 | By AFP Relaxnews

Purchasing a car can be daunting, especially when one doesn’t have prior experience to car buying. Well, fret not! BMW group has recently revealed an augmented reality app in collaboration with Accenture. Under Google’s new standard for augmented reality device, Project Tango, potential car buyers can now view the plug-in hybrid BMW i8 or BMW i3 right on their phones. You will then be able to specify and take a virtual interactive tour of these cars.

“We know that our customers are busy people and that we need to fit into their lives,” said Andrea Castronovo, BMW Group Vice President, Sales Strategy and Future Retail. “We are delighted that customers can now explore our products in a truly interactive and fun way, whenever and wherever it suits them.

Such heighted reality apps could soon be the norm for people in the market for a new vehicle, especially one that comes with a premium price tag. They’re often built to order and so the only way to get a sense of what the car would be like when completed is to explore it virtually. BMW first demonstrated the app in conceptual form at the 2017 CES in January, and for the past month it has been in testing at a number of BMW dealerships in Europe.

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“During our pilot, people had great fun exploring the car, even ducking down their heads as if there really were a roof there,” Castronovo said. “It’s that level of detail which means this technology offers the customers real added value.”

The app is now available to download via Google Play for European consumers while BMW fans in Japan and the US will have to wait until April.


 
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