Augmented reality has been hailed as the technology that will transform our lives, allowing us to merge the virtual and real world. Jeffrey Budiman and Michael Budi from Augmented Reality & Co, Southeast Asia’s largest augmented reality and innovation technology company, talk about what the benefits of augmented reality are, how quickly it is developing, and what role it will play in the future

The New Economy: Well Michael, maybe I can start with you, so augmented reality, what exactly is this?

Michael Budi: So augmented reality is basically a technology solution that can combine both worlds, between the virtual world and the real world, where the user can experience it in real time. The world of augmented means adding, actually. Many people call it mixed reality, but the platform of the hardware itself can be very various. It can start from your mobile device, it can be using the large screen, or in the coming future is the augmented reality glasses.

[K]ids can basically go inside the theme park and meet, see and play with the virtual characters

The New Economy: So what have you used this for, what sort of projects have you been working on?

Michael Budi: The use can be very various, it involves a lot of industries, such as the education industries. We are currently doing augmented reality books for kids in Barcelona, Spain. So what the kids can do is basically download the apps for free, and using their mobile apps they are spying the device into the books, and suddenly there are 3D of the enemies, it’s coming alive, they can see the walking dinosaur on the books, so it will be very interesting and very fun to learn. Another industry, it covers also the entertainment. Currently we are also developing the theme park in Pattaya, Thailand. This theme park has very famous cartoon characters, so the kids can basically go inside the theme park and meet, see and play with the virtual characters, and they can talk with them, it’s very interactive. Another sector that we can be involved in includes medical, and of course the IT industry.

The New Economy: Well what are the benefits of this, why does it appeal to people?

Michael Budi: The number one benefit, I think, is we are talking about timing and place. This technology can be experienced anytime and anywhere. And the second one is the content itself. It’s unlimited content and imagination. So the user basically can make their dreams become true.

The New Economy: Well Jeffrey, over to you know, and how can augmented reality reinforce branding and increase marketability?

Jeffrey Budiman: With augmented reality you can create a new level of interactivity, because we actually combine both the virtual worlds and the real world. By doing that, brand owners can actually put more stuff by interacting directly with the people in real time. So by doing that it will engage on a more personal level, and then at the same time, they can do direct to actions. They can ask the user, who maybe in this case played a game, and then they ask them to go to their websites, which at the end of the day will increase their traffic. And then at the same time they can ask, you need to buy another of their products let’s say, it will increase their sales of course, and if you also increase traffic to their websites, through their social media and stuff, with direct to action, you can also collect data from them, like increasing their database. What do they like, what do they not like? And from there, they can use the data to actually analyse for future sales and marketing.

So the user basically can make their dreams become true

The New Economy: Well how quickly is this augmented technology developing, and what is possible now?

Jeffrey Budiman: At the moment, especially with the uprising with the wearable technology, this augmented reality is really increasing pretty significantly in the last few years. So you can see that there are more augmented reality glasses out there, it’s not only the Google Glass. If you just go to the internet and search it there are a few others, and then more developers are going into it, they are trying to create new platforms so that everywhere you go you can see new content, you can take a look around, it’s similar to like Google Maps or something, you can just know your directions and implement directly into the real world that you live in.

The New Economy: So how big a role do you think augmented reality will play in the future?

Jeffrey Budiman: I’m sure it will become part of our lifestyle because, as you know, we are slowly going into an era where we cannot really differentiate where it’s virtual and where it’s real anymore, because everything is combined. As you know, nowadays people can’t live without their smartphones, their tablets. It shows that people have adapted so much and tried to basically implement this new lifestyle into their life. Even two year old kids are now using smartphones and tablets and stuff, so you can see in the future I’m sure augmented reality, especially with the current funds going into the technology, it will play a significant role because it will become part of us, especially with the display systems they are currently developing, you can say augmented reality will become the main content system for the future. Because especially it can be implemented across industries, so people are more connected to augmented reality, they don’t need to use any other device anymore, they can just use one, like glasses or something, and just walk around and get connected with others.

[A]ugmented reality is really increasing pretty significantly in the last few years

The New Economy: Well finally, your company is known as a pioneer of augmented reality in Indonesia, so what are you working on now and what are your ambitions for the future?

Jeffrey Budiman: We are working on a lot of things at the moment, we actually have our own R&D department, that actually stretch the capabilities of the technology. We have combined it with 4 VFX, like people can get actual experience, not only just seeing on the screen, they can even get wet or something, and then we have connected it with e-cash payments, and many other things. Like Michael said before, this technology has a lot of possibilities. You see that we are doing with our clients is, even if they don’t know what they can do with this technology, you can just sit down with them and try to find the best solutions based on their set of objectives. In the future, we have the ambitions that we at AR&Co, we want to be part of the one that shapes the future lifestyle of humans. So by doing that, we actually create a legacy through the technology.

The New Economy: Jeffrey, Michael, thank you.

Both: Thank you.