Every product designer knows how important it is to always look for new ways to improve your work. The same goes for IoT (the Internet of Things) product designers, who are dealing with a challenging matter. IoT products are complex systems, created with the combination of digital and physical components. In order to design such a product, the designer needs to employ all the best tools available. And, augmented reality (AR) might just be one of them.

Using AR to design IoT products can be highly beneficial and productive. It can change the scope of your design process and help you maximize your success while minimizing the energy you spend. If you’re not sure how AR can help IoT product designers improve their work, just keep reading.

Here’s how to improve IoT product design using AR.

1. Improved Stages of Design

From the moment a designer drafts the first idea to the actual production of the product, there are so many different stages and adjustments.

Designers go from stage to stage, editing their previous work, improving what they feel needs improvement, and adding new elements to the design.

While this process is necessary for the creation of an IoT product, by using AR, designers can make it far more efficient.

Here’s an example:

you’re designing a smart refrigerator

you’ve created a first model

you use AR to project this model into the real world, use it, and find its flaws

AR can help designers:

skip various stages of design

understand which ideas are good and which are not

save time

overcome financial challenges

remove mistakes before they even happen

“The entire process of design would be far more efficient and would allow the designer to truly understand how their product fits the real world. It’s a time and a money-saver,” says Daniel Faber, a product designer and writer at Supreme Dissertations.

2. Improved Design Tools

In order for the end product to improve, there have to be some meaningful changes in the tools we use to create them. The tools used to design IoT products are improving thanks to AR.

Thanks to this evolving technology and the emerging of current IoT product design tools with AR will help the designers:

design

simulate

examine

test

mode

By using tools integrated with AR, designers will be able to use new features and options in the process of creating a product. They’ll have a better overview of their current success level, and will be able to access the results of their own work better.

And that will immensely improve the IoT product design.

3. Improved Product Lifecycle

AR is perfect for helping designers in the initial stage of designing an IoT product. However, they can be continuously used throughout the entire lifecycle of the IoT product.

Let’s say you’ve launched a new product and the customers started using it. While they’re using the product, the team behind the product is collecting valuable data:

customer feedback

reviews and ratings

comments

By listening to what the customers have to say, the designers can start working on an upgraded version of the product. AR can help them:

access the current product and start adding more features

test the upgraded design on the existing product

combine new elements with the existing design

This way, designers will find it easy to manage and improve the life cycle of the product.

4. Improved Product Interaction

When designing an IoT product, designers are usually dealing with something completely new and unknown. While some ideas may seem great in the designer’s imagination, when it comes to the realization, things might go south.

This is why improved tools and AR will help the designers get to know their product better and interact with it on a whole new level.

For example:

a designer is designing a smart IoT yoga mat

using immersive AR tools, he’s able to interact with the product

he can see how it works, fits different spaces, and adjusts to different users

this allows him to test the product himself, find its flaws, or determine its strong sides

This type of product interaction is extremely valuable for the designer and will help them discover more about their own product design. The process will be far more efficient and successful.

5. Improved Client Collaboration

When you’re designing a product, you want to make sure it reaches a wide range of customers and finds its place in the homes, offices, vehicles, or backyards of as many people as possible.

AR can help you collaborate with a potential client and show them how the product will fit their desired setting.

Let’s consider this example:

you’re designing smart lighting

there are numerous choices that a customer can make, including a custom-made lighting

you can use AR to show your customers how the lighting would fit their living room, porch, bedroom, or any other space

You can also test numerous different options including, colors, shapes, and sizes to reach a mutual agreement on what type of product design does the customer want.

This is a brilliant way for you to make sure the customer gets exactly what they want.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, AR can help improve various phases and stages in the process of designing an IoT product. The important thing is to understand your options and use them wisely.

In case you’ve got experience with using AR in designing IoT products, share it with the rest of use. Use Studicus, Wow Grade in case you need help with writing.

The post is by Estelle Liotard is a freelance writer and a blogger whose aim is to share practical, applicable advice and gather reliable information for her readers. She covers topic ranging from web design to digital marketing. She’s also a writer at Trust My Paper and Grab My Essay.