BMW i is the first automotive brand in the world to offer customers an interactive, 3-D augmented reality experience of their products in a pilot programme which is being rolled-out from today.
Using Tango, Google’s smartphone augmented reality technology, customers can explore their ideal BMW i3 or i8, as a real-size, interactive visualization.
Piloting initially in a double-digit number of sales outlets, selected Product Geniuses will be provided with a consumer mobile device which is Tango-enabled. Using this, they can then support customers to visualize and experience the BMW i products, using augmented reality to create a 3-D image which can be explored interactively: the customer can open the boot or the doors, even getting “inside” the car to take a closer look at the interior.
BMW i is the first automotive brand to use Tango to provide customers with this interactive experience.
The BMW i Visualiser App is the latest innovation in the BMW Group’s Future Retail programme, which began rolling out around three years ago and which has transformed the customers’ experience of buying a car. Many significant elements of Future Retail, such as the Product Genius or the Virtual Product Presenter, have set new benchmarks for the industry.
The BMW i Visualiser was designed and developed by Accenture, integrating BMW i picture data of the vehicles into an app which uses Tango technology. It offers customers a new and interactive way to experience the car, with functions that enable customers to open the door or switch on the lights. In order to keep the user-experience as intuitive and simple as possible, the app is a visualiser instead of a full configurator, where features such as interior and exterior colours or wheel rims can be altered at a touch of the screen. Once the visualisation is complete, the customer can save the data and share it with others, including BMW i sales outlets, via social media, email or QR code.
Once the pilot is successfully completed, it is planned to offer the app on Google Play so that customers with Tango-enabled devices can download it for use any time, any place.
