Eye on AI - May 10, 2019
Welcome to Aigora's "Eye on AI" series, where we round up exciting news at the intersection of consumer science and artificial intelligence!
This week we focus on the increasing use of augmented reality (AR) to enhance the consumer experience. The big news was Nike's launch of Nike Fit, which uses a combination of augmented reality and machine learning to help customers find the proper shoe size.
As time progresses, I'll be interested to see how smaller companies compete as their larger competitors leverage their resources to develop these applications and, most important, train them using massive datasets to which smaller competitors might not have access.
Up next in the AR space was Volvo, which is now using AR and virtual reality (VR) in a variety of applications, including in their showrooms.
My understanding is that, among other applications, Volvo will be using AR in their showrooms to demonstrate what their airbag deployment would look like in case of an accident. Assuming that's correct, that's a brilliant idea to demonstrate a selling point that customers would otherwise have to imagine for themselves.
For a final piece of AR news, we look to Google - in part to illustrate what's possible but also because Google is a significant source of tools for the broader technology ecosystem. The news here is that, this week, Google started to roll out AR-based directions in the walking mode for Google maps.
You currently need a Pixel to have access to this feature, and not all Pixel owners have access yet, but it's clear that this technology is just the beginning of a more informed experience throughout everyday life.
To wrap up, here are a few other pieces of news at the intersection of consumer science and AI worth noting:
Absolut is using machine learning to lean out its supply chain.
Spotify is testing interactive voice ads.
The majority of Americans report interacting with chatbots in the past month, but (not surprisingly) they still prefer to interact with humans.
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