An Augmented Reality App for Real Estate Marketing

Customer

Headquartered in Norway, the сustomer is an international advertising agency that specializes in real estate PR services.

Challenge

Aiming to attract potential clients to invest in building sites, the customer wanted a way to visualize future infrastructure on undeveloped land using AR technology. The customer’s major objective was to create a mobile solution that allows users to place 3D models at predefined sites and observe AR models of these buildings from afar, at close range, or from the water. According to the initial idea, potential real estate investors should be able to visualize and assess soon-to-be-built buildings in AR mode using their smartphones.

Solution

The final solution has a splash screen with logos, help and FAQ screens, main screens with lists of locations and buildings, and an AR camera screen to see the Augmented Reality experience. Using GPS coordinates, the user can place a 3D model of a building on the screen at a certain location and from varying distances.

When close to the location, the user can switch to AR mode and see what the building will look like in its real size. If the location has several 3D models, the user will be able to select or slide them. In cases where markers and/or QR codes are used, the application will locate 3D buildings according to the markers’ relative shifts. Some ​​3D models can be observed in cases when they are not anchored. The models can be scaled and placed far from their actual location, on the floor or ground. This makes it possible to show the app workflow to App Store administrators, so they can ensure the app is working properly.

Process

HQSoftware created a cross-platform mobile app on the Unity engine using ArCore/ArKit and geo-based methods. The team chose ArCore and ArKit software development kits because they provide high accuracy in device localization and allow the best refinement of the position while the marker is in the camera’s field of view.

The client supplied all the relevant 3D models, and HQSoftware deployed a team, consisting of a Unity developer and a project manager, to develop the solution. To guarantee the project’s prompt completion and the highest possible productivity, our specialists decided on the Kanban methodology. To ensure an extra dimension of stability in placement, we offered to use additional functionality, with beacons and markers.

3D models were provided by the customer in FBX format with 30k triangles, where textures contained the majority of details. A geo-based method, network triangulation, determines the location of a point by drawing triangles to it from known points. 

The MVP solution did not include backend integration with APIs and an admin panel. Our specialists used the configuration files and media saved on AWS S3 buckets to be able to upload and synchronize them with the application.

HQSoftware provided full-cycle software development services, resulting in source code for mobile development and all the needed configuration files for deployment. The completely functional application was finished in around six months.

Team

1 Project Manager
1 Unity Developer

Results

At the end of the project, the customer obtained a completely functional solution. AR features and enhanced UI/UX design help users visualize potential construction on the building site to understand how the land will be developed in the future. GPS navigation functions let users examine 3D models from various heights and viewpoints, which is an advantage that can lead to increased sales. Currently, the client plans to deliver the app in the Apple Store and Google Play marketplaces, in cooperation with HQSoftware.

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