QReal: One of the Most Important AR Technology Companies You Might Not Have Heard Of

You might not have heard about the AR technology company QReal. However, if you’ve had an AR experience with Dunkin’ Donuts, Dominos, Subway, Panera, or KitchenAid, you’ve probably seen their handywork.

To better understand the company that is quietly introducing so many to AR technology, ARPost had a chat with co-founder Alper Guler.

QReal, Formerly Kabaq

QReal is a subsidiary of The Glimpse Group. When Guler helped to found QReal, they were called Kabaq. The company created 3D models of food items for use in AR technology applications using photogrammetry. Photogrammetry is the science of using photographs to take measurements that are used to construct 3D models.

“3 years ago now, we had the idea to bring food to the world,” said Guler. “Over 3 years, we perfected our process and realized that we can use the same process to make models of other things.”

Their limited operations with non-food companies lead them to develop their technology and expand their business reach. The purpose of the rebrand from Kabaq to Qreal is to reflect this new outreach.

With 5G, 3D content will be a part of our lives.

“When we started working with marketing companies they started pushing us to use our processes on other things,” said Guler. Things like cars, shoes, and other products. “What we provide is the same. We provide 3D models. We work with brands to capture their products and distribute them on different platforms like Snapchat.”

This service is, according to Guler, the future of both AR technology and marketing.

The Future of Marketing

Services like that provided by QReal are the future of marketing, according to Guler, because they produce richer content that consumers are more likely to share on their own.

“We’re giving clients access to material that they can use on their social media platforms,” said Guler. “I think it’s a unique experience to the user because you can use all of the world around you.” 

This gives users the opportunity to create content that they feel is their own. This makes them more likely to share the content with friends than they would be in the case of conventional advertising.

“I believe every product will have a 3D model. With 2G internet everything was text. With 3G internet we started pushing photos,” said Guler. “With 4G internet we started pushing videos. With 5G, 3D content will be a part of our lives.”

The Future of AR Technology

In a way, this kind of marketing isn’t just an advertisement for the product – it’s also an advertisement for AR technology. After all, the first experience with AR that many people have is through social media platforms like Snapchat.

“[With] pretty much any phone in the world you can click on a photo and see it in AR. It’s a huge step forward in terms of distribution,” said Guler. “I think this is the most important thing happening in our lives: Apple and Google creating these distribution channels. And, with platforms like Snapchat, everyone has access to this technology.”