Houzz – Transforming Homes into Augmented Reality Shopping Malls
In writing about Houzz I find myself referencing the Holodeck from Star Trek way too often, but with good reason – it’s simply the coolest sci-fi idea ever (and it’s coming – you know it is). With that disclaimer out of the way, here I go again. Imagine if you could look around your living room or bedroom and see a blank canvas in place of some things. Get rid of your couch, your chair, your dresser, or whatever you think is need of an upgrade or replacement without having to actually move it. Imagine that you could virtually scroll through image after endless image of other living rooms or bedrooms, spot something in them that strikes your fancy, and then see that particular item in your Holodeck-enabled home. Old couch gone, the new one you saw in a picture sitting in its place. The idea makes the interior decorator in you get really excited. And that is pretty much what the home remodeling platform Houzz is allowing anyone and everyone to do now. Houzz is becoming increasingly popular, with the Android version of their app being voted best app of the year in 2016. 400% sales growth year-over-year from 2015, and…
Waygo Translation App takes you out for Chinese
Ryan Rogowski, CEO and Cofounder of San Francisco based Waygo Translation App believes that within our lifetime, we’ll be able to translate and speak multiple languages fluently with the help of technology. “I think language as a barrier is being solved and it’s an exciting time to be part of the industry. With globalization happening so fast, there’s this giant problem. But the base technology and hardware is pretty much already there. It’s just now improving the research and software to get things done efficiently for you.” Waygo is an augmented reality startup that focuses on visual, real-time translation for Asian countries (currently Chinese, Japan and Korea). All you need to do is point your smartphone’s camera at the words in question and the app will translate into English in seconds, translating your desired foreign dish is made easier. It gives users an in-depth knowledge of foreign cuisine by providing detailed images of how food dishes are prepared while browsing restaurant menus. “Waygo has evolved as a premier menu translation app that encourages travelers to live and dine like the locals, without the worry of ordering the wrong menu item.” The Waygo team had researched Chinese restaurant menus, covering the…
Is the Operator App a Media Game Changer?
Have you heard of the Operator App? In the old days, we consumers would go through the arduous and time consuming process of getting dressed, getting in our vehicles, and actually physically driving to a store – or several stores – to buy something. Then we had to park, walk in, find the right department, and then find the right product. And if the store we were in didn’t have the option we wanted, it was back out to he car and on to the next store to find it. Sounds exhausting, right? Then came the consumer’s savior – the internet, along with Amazon and other online retailers. Now we can stay in our PJs, save our gas money, and browse through multiple online stores in less time than it used to take us to get to the first store. But there’s a sacrifice involved, namely getting help. Sure, there are chat boxes, artificial intelligence chatbots, and reviews, but the first is little more than a call center employee with little product knowledge, chatbots are just as limited with even less personality, and the latter probably involves many people paid to post positive reviews and other hired to denigrate a company…
How much Money can you make in VR?
As a race, we humans have finally hit the wall. Reality just doesn’t cut it anymore. We need virtual realty ( VR ), augmented reality. mixed reality. It’s evolution. It’s progress. It’s what all the cool kids are talking about. And it’s about to be a huge business opportunity. Last fall Forbes reported that more than $4 billion had been invested in virtual reality since 2010. That actually doesn’t seem too overwhelming a figure for such a high-tech sci-fi type of enterprise, and it seems much lower when you consider that $2 billion of that was Facebook buying Oculus, the maker of the Oculus Rift VR headset that has been the talk of VR enthusiasts for the last few years but still hasn’t made a breakthrough. Then there was the much hyped but then much maligned Google Glass, the first really big thing in augmented reality, which also failed to make any serious headway. So should you investigate a job in any of these alternate reality fields, or are we still tears away from anyone finding anything viable? As is almost always the case, following the money is a good clue to the answer. Depending on which Venture Beat article you believe, the VR…
What is a Chatbot and how can it Change your Business?
It’s doubtful that many (if any) of our readers are contemplating or pursuing a career in low-level customer service, such as taking orders at a fast food restaurant or working at a call center answering the most mundane questions that consumers can think of. If I’m wrong and that’s exactly the career path you’ve chosen, I apologize for making assumptions. But I also have bad news for you – those jobs won’t be done by humans much longer, Chatbot is the new king, so you might want to rethink your strategy. Artificial Intelligence, that pie-in-the-sky dream that started with Alan Turing years ago, best imagined in ideas like the computer on the Enterprise in Star Trek or the frightening HAL of 2001: A Space Odyssey, is almost here. And by almost here, I mean it’s just down the block, already turning down the radio and slowing it’s speed to turn into your driveway. Like, really close. But if you instantly think of Big Blue playing chess, you still don’t realize how much AI has creeped into our world. You’ve actually probably been using an early version for a few years now. That is, if you have a smartphone. Which I’m assuming you…
