1. - Abhishek Sheth

2. Definition Augmented reality (AR) is a live, direct or indirect, view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. It is related to a more general concept called mediated reality, in which a view of reality is modified (possibly even diminished rather than augmented) by a computer. As a result, the technology functions by enhancing ones current perception of reality 3. Exhibit1 4. Exhibit2 5. Case1 The webcam social shopper Zugaras award winning online merchandising software, The Webcam Social Shopper (WSS), is now available as an official module for PrestaShops apparel merchants worldwide. The module provides PrestaShops apparel retailers with immediate integration of a piece of software that turns their shoppers webcams into interactive mirrors, instantaneously providing a more fun, visual and social experience. To do this WSS uses a webcams live video feed, a motion capture interface, AR and Facebook/Twitter integration to replicate that offline moment at the rack where a young shopper holds a dress or blouse up to herself, turns to a friend (or the mirror) and asks what do you think, is this me? 6. Live demo. 7. What will drive the uptake of AR? Quite simply, the increased usage of smart mobile deviceslike the iPhone, Blackberry, Kindle, iPad etc. There is a lot of discussion about the shift from desktop to mobile and the prediction that in several years time e-commerce will be dominated by mobile browsing. The latest data from ComScore shows a 30% increase in social networking traffic among smartphone users in the past 12 months so mobile is already driving social media usage. Research from Forrester shows that iPhone users are more affluent than users of other smartphones, therefore have a high propensity to respond to relevant retail offers direct to their phone. 8. Where can it be applied for retail? High street retailers can develop a Store Finder mobile app that overlays local store information on interactive maps perhaps an aggregation of all major brands would provide cost efficiency. Dynamic contextual advertising that displays offers and promotions based on the location and profile of the mobile user (e.g. iPhone user gets different message than Blackberry user) next step on from voucher code sites. Serving customer reviews to mobile devices to facilitate decision making on the move. Dynamically generating cross and up-sell recommendations based on scanning a barcode in-store on your mobile phone. 9. Additional reference http://www.luxurydaily.com/swarovski-boosts-ecommercevia-augmented-reality-instagram-contest/