This Augmented Reality App Could Change the Way We Shop Online

Enter Augment, an Android and iOS app which uses augmented reality to let you visualize how products will look in your home. If you want to see a product in your environment, just click the "try it on" button on Augment-connected ecommerce sites, and Augment will open and overlay the "item" anywhere you point your smartphone or tablet camera. You can push the item far away, bring it closer, push it flush against the wall or rotate it. The app intends to minimize the risk of buying large items — you know exactly how it will fit into your space and how it'll look — and this technology could be a huge boon for ecommerce sales. A 3D rendering of each product is ll Augment needs to provide the virtual try-on.

We spoke with founder Jean-François Chianetta at the Austin Convention Center during SXSWi. Check out the video above to see how Augment works. Would Augment make you more inclined to purchase large items online? Tell us in the comments.