Edmunds Launches First-of-Its-Kind Augmented Reality Feature to Let Shoppers Determine if Vehicles Will Fit at Home

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Sept. 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Edmunds, the leading car shopping and information platform, today announced a first-of-its-kind augmented reality (AR) feature that will help consumers visualize and determine whether different vehicles will fit in their garages, parking spaces and driveways. This new capability will be available on the Edmunds app for iPhone, making it easier than ever for consumers to research and find the perfect car.

Edmunds experts say a critical and often overlooked step in the shopping process is to confirm that the car you're looking to purchase can fit where you're planning to park it. Many dealerships offer extended test-drive programs that allow shoppers to take the vehicle home for a night, but this isn't always an option. This new AR feature from Edmunds allows car shoppers to virtually conduct the "fit test," with as many vehicles as they wish, from the convenience of their iPhone.

"Mobile-driven AR technology is evolving in ways that we can now start to leverage it to make car shopping easier and more convenient, similar to the disruption we're seeing elsewhere in retail," said Brock Stearn, Edmunds' director of immersive technology. "By developing and making this industry-first AR feature available within our robust suite of car shopping tools, Edmunds continues to lead the way in empowering consumers to make informed decisions throughout their car shopping journey."

This new feature was developed by Edmunds on the Apple ARKit. The feature will be available alongside editorial reviews, photos and videos in the Edmunds app for iOS 11. The feature leverages depth-sensing, area learning and motion-tracking technology to scan a local environment and create a 3D mesh of an environment. This 3D mesh is used with ARKit to determine if the 3D model of a vehicle can fit within that environment.

For the user, the experience is as simple as opening the application, which uses the phone's camera to scan a garage or parking space and then overlays a 3D model representative of the selected vehicle into the image. For driveways and other areas without walls, users will be able to create "virtual walls" in order to provide the same functionality. Once an area is learned, the user can cycle through different vehicles to see which ones may safely fit or not. Specifications of nearly all U.S. vehicles from 1990 to present will be supported.

This new feature will be available on the Edmunds app version 12.0 with the release of iOS 11 on the iPhone 6s and later. Users can look for the feature in both the Tools menu and Vehicle Overview pages in the Edmunds app by tapping on the button labeled "Can It Fit?"

For more information on the Edmunds app, please visit the App Store:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/edmunds-used-cars-for-sale-new-cars-for-sale/id393630966?mt=8.

About Edmunds
Edmunds is the leading car information and shopping platform, helping millions of visitors each month find their perfect car. With products such as Edmunds Your Price, Your Lease and Used+, shoppers can buy smarter with instant, upfront prices for cars and trucks currently for sale at more than 13,000 dealer franchises across the U.S. Edmunds' in-house team of unbiased car shopping experts provide industry-leading vehicle reviews and shopping tips, as well as welcome all car shopping questions to the free Shopper Advice line at 1-855-782-4711, via email at [email protected], via text at ED411 and on Twitter and Facebook. The company is regarded as one of America's best workplaces by Fortune and Great Place to Work. Edmunds is based in Santa Monica, California, and has a satellite office in downtown Detroit, Michigan.

CONTACT:
Talia James
Public Relations Manager, Edmunds
[email protected]
310-309-4900
http://edmunds.com/about/press

SOURCE Edmunds.com

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