A new reality

Imagine having a conversation with your favourite star or getting your doctor to diagnose your ailment, in spite of being in remote locations. That’s precisely what Augmented Integrated Reality (AIR), a one of its kind technology, is all set to do.

Simply put, AIR is a more personalised way to interact with people and increase your audience reach, whether you’re a celebrity, politician, influencer or even a doctor.

The app Invite CM is the brainchild of Hyderabad-based Bhairav Shankar, the founder of Avantari, an R&D and Product Development firm in collaboration with digital experience startup Nudge Ink. The idea was conceived in November last year and started with the game Pokémon GO.

“When we heard of how Augmented Reality was becoming a big thing with this game, our first thought was that it wasn’t being used as a communication tool to reach out to the masses and that it had great potential to be explored,” says Bhairav, about the origins of his project.

Bhairav’s idea was to use Augmented Reality and create a 3D hologram that could appear in one’s room. “This is a lot like a telephone call or the TV, except that it is at the next level. The technology is limitless and can be used for publicising things. Say you witness a music show and you record it, that can appear live in your home through this app and your family can see what you experienced live. Also, you can now take a selfie with your favourite star, and have the experience of having them in the same room as you,” says Bhairav.

“We partnered with NudgeInk, an Australian digital experience startup that created and designed this first-of-a-kind experience that makes the technology intuitive and easy to handle. We’ve made sure that every smartphone, from a low end model to a high end one, from Android to iOS, can use this technology with just the download of the app and a print out of the marker” Bhairav adds.

“The marker is available online and all one has to do is to print it,” says the founder’s father, filmmaker Mani Shankar, who first introduced the idea of 3D holograms in Modi’s campaign for the Gujarat assembly elections.

“The app is going to be launched by the chief minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis on February 15 and will be broadcasted to millions of homes. We’re also revolutionising the electoral process again, because here you are inviting the minister to your home. We haven’t set a price for the app, but it is very affordable,” explains Mani Shankar, who is helping his son with this project.

The technology works for both, two way and one way communications. “In the case of a politician, who might be broadcasting to 11 crore homes across the country, it works as a one way communication system,” says Mani, adding that they are now working on advancing the technology even further.