Although technologies such as augmented reality and virtual reality are considered to be in the earliest stages of consumer adoption, they offer significant potential to reshape brand marketing campaigns. AR on the mobile platform holds major promise as users embrace smartphone cameras, a key delivery vehicle for augmented reality content.

The premise behind AR is discovery and storytelling, seeking to appeal to the side of us that is curious and thirsts for knowledge. This is right in the wheelhouse of ethnographers, who study people and culture.

“Ethnography and social science are getting embedded into what people are creating now, and I’m thrilled to see that. We’re just at the cusp of it really taking hold for consumers,” said Leah Hunter (pictured), co-founder and chief executive officer of The Village Couture and a frequent contributor to Fast Company and Forbes.

Hunter paid a visit to the set of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE’s mobile livestreaming studio, and spoke with host John Furrier (@furrier) at the Samsung Developer Conference in San Francisco, California. They discussed the potential application of AR for industrial use and current tools available to developers in the space.

Growing industrial use cases

There are signs that AR could blossom soon and become a major force in digital communication. Recent reports have revealed a building set up by Facebook specifically to develop AR-related projects. Pokemon GO became a global AR-fueled craze last year as millions visually tracked digital creatures through a smartphone app. And industrial use cases, such as realistic digital renderings by Chevrolet, are growing as reported by Hunter who wrote a book on the subject.

“I discovered that industrial AR was the most powerful place to play, because there were real-world examples of AR actually helping people,” Hunter said.

There is also a nascent ecosystem of augmented reality platforms and tools for developers. Apple offers ARKit as its AR development platform, while Google has countered with ARCore to stimulate new products. The availability of platforms such as these encourages ethnographers like Hunter, but there is still a long way to go.

“It hasn’t completely lived up to expectations, but there has been a flurry of activity by people experimenting to see how it can be applied in a consumer way,” said Hunter in discussing ARKit. “It’s moving there, but it’s nowhere near ready yet.”

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the Samsung Developer Conference.

Photo: SiliconANGLE