Knowledge Base
Find answers to frequently asked questions about our services, products, and processes.
What is the difference between AR, VR, and MR?
Augmented Reality (AR) overlays digital content onto the real world through a camera — you still see your actual surroundings. Virtual Reality (VR) fully immerses you in a computer-generated environment using a headset — the real world is completely blocked out. Mixed Reality (MR) blends both, allowing digital objects to interact with the physical environment in real time. Augmento focuses on AR because it's the most accessible — requiring only a smartphone, no special hardware.
How can I see what a renovated kitchen will look like using augmented reality apps?
Several AR apps let you visualize renovations in real-time through your phone camera. Tools like Houzz, RoomSketcher, and magicplan allow you to swap cabinet styles, countertop materials, flooring, and wall colors overlaid on your actual kitchen. For paint specifically, apps like Sherwin-Williams ColorSnap Visualizer, Benjamin Moore Color Portfolio, and staging platforms like Homestyler let you point your camera at a wall and instantly see it repainted in any color: the AR engine detects wall boundaries and applies the new color with realistic texture, accounting for the room's existing lighting conditions. Some platforms go further, letting you remove existing elements and replace them with new designs, useful for evaluating renovation ROI before committing capital.
How to use augmented reality to market unbuilt pre-construction real estate developments?
Developers use AR in two key ways for off-plan sales: on-site AR apps that let visitors point their phone at an empty lot and see the proposed building overlaid at full scale, and remote AR experiences where buyers place a 3D model of the development on their table to explore unit layouts. These experiences are built on detailed 3D models created from the architectural blueprints, so buyers can also walk through an unbuilt home interactively, navigating room by room, examining finishes, and understanding spatial flow before a single wall is built. Combined with interactive floor plan selectors and finish customization tools, AR converts pre-construction interest into deposits without requiring a physical model home.
Can I use the WebXR API to embed an augmented reality property tour directly on a webpage?
Yes. The WebXR Device API enables AR experiences directly in mobile browsers without app installation. Using frameworks like A-Frame, Three.js, or Babylon.js with WebXR, you can build web pages that activate the user's camera, detect surfaces, and overlay 3D property models or furniture in augmented reality. This is particularly powerful for marketing — buyers tap a link and instantly enter an AR experience.
How to successfully convert a Revit BIM model into a lightweight augmented reality experience for a construction site?
Export the Revit model as FBX or IFC, then decimate the mesh in Blender or Autodesk 3ds Max to mobile-friendly polygon counts (under 200K polygons). Divide the model into location-based sections, partitioned by floor or zone, that load independently based on the user's GPS or AR-tracked position on site: as the worker moves into a new section, the relevant 3D chunk streams in while distant sections unload from memory, keeping the app within typical mobile memory limits of 1 to 2GB usable. Use physical marker placement throughout the building so the AR app can use image recognition to accurately overlay the BIM plans onto the physical construction in real-time.
Can augmented reality be used effectively to detect structural MEP clashes before physical construction begins?
Yes. By overlaying the BIM model's MEP (Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing) systems onto the physical construction site via AR, project managers can identify clashes between planned systems and actual as-built conditions in real-time. This "clash detection" during construction catches conflicts that even thorough BIM coordination misses, preventing expensive rework. Mixed reality headsets like Microsoft HoloLens are designed specifically for this use case: load the BIM model's MEP layers and you can walk the site seeing holographic overlays of ductwork, piping, and electrical conduits rendered at their planned positions within the physical space, one of the highest-value applications of AR in commercial construction. Tools like Dalux, Trimble Connect, and Autodesk BIM 360 support on-site AR clash visualization.
How will 5G networks improve the loading speed and latency of mobile augmented reality property tours?
5G delivers dramatically higher bandwidth (up to 20Gbps) and lower latency (under 10ms) compared to 4G. For AR property tours, this means: heavy 3D models load in seconds instead of minutes on mobile devices, real-time cloud rendering becomes viable, multi-user collaborative AR sessions run smoothly, and high-fidelity spatial data streams continuously without buffering. The cloud rendering piece relies on mobile edge computing (MEC), which places powerful GPU servers at the network edge near cell towers: complex 3D models are rendered server-side and streamed as video to the device, while the phone handles only tracking and input, with sub-10ms round-trip latency over 5G. This architecture lets even basic smartphones display photorealistic 3D property experiences that would otherwise require desktop-grade hardware, transforming the mobile AR experience from "acceptable" to truly seamless.
How will wearable smart glasses eventually replace smartphones for augmented reality property viewings?
Smart glasses (Apple Vision Pro, Meta Orion, Snap Spectacles) will make AR property viewing continuous and hands-free. Instead of holding up a phone, buyers wearing lightweight AR glasses will see property information, virtual staging, and renovation visualizations overlaid on the real world as they walk through a space naturally. The transition timeline depends on hardware miniaturization — current devices are still too bulky and expensive for mass consumer adoption, but the trajectory points toward mainstream use by 2028–2030.