New App Lets Users "Drop" Ikea Furniture into Their Homes

Do you wonder what that Ikea sofa will look like in your new Tandem apartment living room? Wonder no more, as the geeks at Ikea have come up with an awesome new way to drop their furniture in your home without you ever leaving home.

As the writers at FastCodeDesign.com recently wrote:

Ikea has developed a killer app for AR. After using any smartphone or tablet to scan select pages out of its 2014 catalog, you can place the catalog anywhere in your home to make it appear as if it’s an actual piece of furniture. Watch the video above to see what we mean.

Technically, this is no more amazing than any other AR app to date. But every part of the actual use-case scenario makes sense. Consider the experience: You’re already reading this catalog. You come across something you like. Then, assuming your phone is nearby, the hardest thing you have to do is drop the book somewhere in your home–a satisfying tactile process that beats pinching and zooming on a glass screen. There are no stickers to tear out or cards to print. Every component of the experience is already integrated.

In turn, the customer gets a much more accurate picture than pulling out a measuring tape and imagining. And Ikea actually transports its products into the customer’s home, associating a living room with its showroom through a sort of digital test drive. It’s a good idea that’s brilliantly executed.