AR Independent has launched its mobile app Aug-It!’ enables businesses to promote their brand through bespoke augmented and mixed reality experiences with help from the Activate programme
Liverpool start-up AR Independent has pioneered a first-of-its-kind augmented reality (AR) app six months after launching, following support from the city region’s Activate programme.
The immersive mobile app Aug-It!’ enables businesses to promote their brand through bespoke augmented and mixed reality experiences, in a cost-effective way.
Through the Activate programme, AR Independent was able to access knowledge transfer, consultancy services, and grant funding needed to support the development of the Aug-it app.
Free consultancy
By working in collaboration with project partner Liverpool Business School’s research developer, Amanda Ordish, AR Independent was able to access free bespoke consultancy in relation to feasibility and commercialisation, as well as specialist equipment and technical expertise to design and test the feasibility of the software.
AR is one of the first companies to partake in Activate, a £5m project part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund that supports digital and creative businesses across the city region.
It provides access to emerging technologies and expertise, to help accelerate the develop products and get off the ground.
Restaurant client
The collaboration has landed AR Independent its first client, Dockside Dining, which is now set to become the city’s first fully immersive dining experience when it opens its doors on Liverpool’s Mann Island later this month, as well as a London-based restaurant chain and festival.
By downloading Aug-It!, customers will be able to take a fully immersive experience of over 15 restaurants within Dockside Dining via the AR ‘pop-up’ menu on their smart-phone, giving them a real-world look at what’s on offer.
The app will enable customers to interact directly with the restaurant brands by uploading messages and photos to virtual bubbles and balloons, which can then be shared on social media.
Sheer scale
Anthony Hagan, creative director at AR-Independent, said: “The idea for the Aug-It! hatched when I was living in California and I got to see the sheer scale that AR is being harnessed in sports and events for brand engagement, and I wanted to bring the same technological advances to the UK.
“Through Activate, the company has leapfrogged from a blue-sky idea to a commercially available product, and it has happened much faster than I ever imagined. Even without the access to the grant funding, it would have been worth going through Activate solely for the business support.”