Simplifying Mobile App Development Using Flutter

The demand for cross-platform mobile app development has grown significantly over recent years. All businesses or enterprises, whether local or international, want to expand their customer base and engage their audience through mobile apps. Mobile application development is an effective way to maximize user engagement and increase customer loyalty. As a result, an increasing number of businesses worldwide have invested in Android and iOS mobile app development. 

That being said, developing applications separately for Android, iOS, and other mobile platforms using different tools is both expensive and time-consuming. The rapidly changing market trends and dynamically changing business requirements have paved the way for cross-platform mobile app development. There are several tools and frameworks that enable developers to build cross-platform mobile apps for different mobile platforms. The most commonly used frameworks are React Native, Flutter, Ionic, and Apache Cordova.

Flutter is a Google-owned mobile framework that is relatively new to the market and offers several benefits over the other similar frameworks. At Oodles, we have received many requests for mobile app development specifically using Flutter. The main reason behind the increasing demand for Flutter mobile app development is the quick deployment and reduced time-to-market. In this blog post, we are going to discuss the key benefits of using Flutter for cross-platform mobile app development.

Also read Choosing Angular 8.0 for Mobile Application Development

What Is Flutter? How It Improves Mobile App Development?

Flutter is an open-source mobile application framework that is run and maintained by Google. It was launched in May 2017 with the sole aim to simplify and accelerate the mobile application development process. The framework was designed to develop native mobile interfaces for popular mobile operating systems like Android and iOS. Later on, Google also rendered support for Windows, Mac, Linux, Fuchsia, and web applications. As of today, the framework is being used by a large community of developers to build feature-rich web and mobile applications. Below are the key benefits of using Flutter for mobile application development.

Faster Code Execution

The main benefit of using Flutter is that it accelerates the development process with faster code execution which reduces complexities and time-to-market. With its “hot reload” feature, developers can make dynamic changes in code and preview them instantly before pushing it further. The changes are reflected in milliseconds, making it fast and easy to add new features and functionalities to the app.

The hot reload feature is also effective at improving the interactions between developers, designers, and QA testers. All these entities can work together on Flutter to quickly and efficiently finalize the app interface with simultaneous bug detection and resolution. 

Cross-platform Compatibility

Unlike many similar mobile app frameworks, Flutter requires a single codebase for both Android and iOS mobile app development processes. In addition, developers don’t need to build both apps separately. Flutter enables them to build multiple apps simultaneously with minimal code changes. Furthermore, it doesn’t require third-party applications or services as it comes with built-in widgets and plugins. All these factors contribute towards significantly reducing the development costs and accelerating the development process.

Faster App Testing 

Flutter enables developers to build a single application that works perfectly for both Android and iOS platforms. It significantly reduces the complexities related to quality testing. Since you are only going to test a single app for both platforms, it makes the process time-saving and cost-effective. Flutter app development requires less effort from the QA engineers, so they can be allocated on other critical quality assurance tasks.

Smooth App Performance

It’s been tried and tested that mobile apps developed using Flutter are lightweight, responsive, and work faster than their other counterparts. Besides, users get smooth navigation and multiple features under an intuitive and user-friendly interface. While you may require third-party tools to implement complex functionalities, Flutter is ideal for building simple, user-centric mobile apps with cross-platform compatibility.

Vast Options For UI Design

Flutter app development enables companies to create dynamic mobile apps with interactive, engaging, and intuitive user interfaces. It eliminates UI design complexities and makes it easy to map user journeys to drive significant user engagement across devices. 

You may also be interested in reading How to Merge a Flutter Project in Native Android Project

Closing Remarks

The aforementioned factors shed light on the significance of using Flutter for cross-platform mobile app development. The framework’s hot reload feature has made it easier than ever to make changes in real-time. The same feature also enables developers to release multiple app updates with minimal complexities. Flutter is also an effective tool to create a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) for your app and use it to drive investments.

Why Choose Oodles For Flutter Mobile App Development?

We are a seasoned mobile app development company that provides full-scale Flutter app development services to clients. Our development team is experienced in building user-centric mobile apps using Flutter that perform seamlessly across Android and iOS platforms. We analyze your business requirements and formulate effective strategies to develop feature-rich mobile apps that overcome complex enterprise challenges.

 

Data Visualization In The Age of Immersive AR VR Technologies

Data plays a significant role in optimizing business processes to achieve the required operational efficiency. Organizations can capitalize on their data resources by developing innovative solutions for data management and processing. That being said, many enterprises are making the best use of their data by developing technology solutions that maximize customer engagement levels. These data-driven solutions incorporate next-gen technologies like AI, machine learning, Big Data, IoT, and immersive technologies like Augmented and Virtual Reality. Integrating these technologies into business applications enables enterprises to visualize their mission-critical data and access it in a more discernible format.

The advent of immersive AR/VR technologies has provided businesses an effective way to visualize data and enhance their process efficiencies. Data scientists believe that AR VR App Solutions have immense potential to fundamentally change the way we interpret data and interact with it. Let’s explore how these two immersive technologies can enhance the present-day data visualization techniques. 

Also read Building Mixed Reality and IoT Solutions Using Azure

More Actionable Data Insights

Data scientists reveal that an average organization spends a lot of time gathering and analyzing data in attempts to extract something useful. However, roughly two-thirds of their efforts do not conclude a significant discovery. Understandably, obtaining information that doesn’t lead to any action is of no use to these organizations. 

In this context, data visualization is becoming an important business tool to analyze and extract actionable data more efficiently, with minimal efforts. Having said that, the use of AR/VR technologies in data visualization significantly improves process efficiency by rendering an immersive environment. For example, manufacturing companies can use virtual reality for quality control purposes. The quality control personnel can use VR headsets to inspect fabricated items and identify hidden patterns to reveal manufacturing defects if present. Similarly, adopting VR techniques during the product development cycle can accurately reveal indistinct flaws that may further lead to bigger challenges.

Improved Decision Making

There is no denying that implementing AR/VR techniques enables organizations to significantly improve their decision-making processes. Data visualization aid decision-makers to accurately grasp the most important facts and figures from the analysis reports. Furthermore, AR/VR simulations save their valuable time and effort that would be otherwise essential in the manual analysis of documents. 

Data visualization using AR/VR aids in formulating effective strategies to effortlessly achieve mission-critical business goals in the lowest timeframe. In addition, it strengthens business processes by enabling quick responses to effectively run day-to-day operations in various enterprises.

Data Exploration and Presentation

3D data visualizations using AR/VR technologies are effective at augmenting the data exploration processes at multiple stages. Data scientists increasingly use mixed reality techniques to analyze complex data structures and extract hidden patterns through immersive visualization. Similarly, leading research firms use VR simulations to meaningfully enhance their data exploration process. At the same time, 3D data models enable enterprises to accurately predict future outcomes of an action and make important business observations. 

Companies spend a lot of time and energy in presenting their business data in a quickly discernable format. The presentation of data becomes of foremost importance when they have to share discoveries or research findings. AR/VR/MR technologies provide them an effective way to collaborate with colleagues and share their discoveries with managers and stakeholders in a presentable manner.

You may also be interested in reading Simplifying AR Implementation Using Amazon Sumerian

The Road Ahead

All major industries are starting to comprehend the value and significance of data visualization. The intersection between AR/VR technologies and big data analytics epitomizes the immense creative opportunities that enterprises have at their disposal. Several leading enterprises have already upgraded their data processing operations by implementing these technologies. In the coming years, we are going to see the increasing trend of incorporating immersive data visualization techniques in cross-industry business processes.

Final Verdict

It goes without saying that data visualization through AR/VR will enable organizations to expand their growth curve and enhance process efficiencies. It will further drive them in the right direction to effortlessly achieve their business goals through improved data analytics and future-proof decision-making processes. 

Avail Our 360-degree AR VR Development Services To Engage Your Customers

We are an experienced AR VR development company that specializes in building immersive solutions to deliver engaging visual experiences to end-users. Our development team is skilled at using advanced tools and agile methodologies to create interactive experiences powered by the AR/VR technologies. We formulate effective strategies to let you capitalize on your enterprise data through great visual experiences. Our AR Application Development Services enhance user experiences and maximize user engagement and interactivity.

IoT Home Automation and Use Cases

The Internet of Things has opened new opportunities to reduce mechanical and operational failures. IoT solutions enable automation, remote operation, and monitoring of devices and machines. Smart IoT devices are now available for use in offices, homes, and public spaces for entertainment, security, and automation.  McKinsey Global Institute predicts that the Internet of Things market will reach the U.S. $11.1 trillion annually by 2025.  

Let's explore how IoT is improving home automation

Home Security with IoT sensors: One of the important aspects of home automation is security. An IoT enabled home automation system can differentiate between homeowners, friends, relatives, and strangers. They can alert homeowners when they detect strangers or malicious activities in their absence. AI-enabled video doorbells can recognize faces and provide information about individuals. Family members can evaluate the efficiency of IoT systems anytime, anywhere, even when internet connectivity is poor or unavailable. 

Platform Independent Control: IoT smart home solutions enable users to operate home appliances even before they enter the house. It enables users to control thermostats, air conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines, sprinklers, water pumps, and coffee machines with voice commands, web platforms, smart wearables, and mobile phones for enhanced convenience.  

Self-Maintainance Alerts: Apart from the automation of various tasks at home, IoT enabled smart devices can self-diagnose their performance. The devices automatically alert manufacturers before their products fail to perform. Manufacturers then reach out to customers when it is time to service their devices. IoT enabled refrigerators can alert users about food shortage and wastage so that grocery orders can be placed to replenish them. Also, smart window blinds adjust to daylight changes for the comfort of homeowners. 

Towards a Greener World with IoT: IoT devices enable optimal use of resources. It can track device power consumption and usage pattern to minimize wastage. IoT occupancy sensors incorporated in rooms and washrooms can turn off the AC and lights when not in use. The technology facilitates controlling light intensity. Outdoor lights can be configured switch on or off as per the intensity of natural light.

Successful Smart Home Automation Use Cases

Consumers today have a wide range of IoT tools and services at their disposal for smart home automation. Most manufacturers focus on producing smart devices that serve a specific purpose while others build complete hubs for a smart home. 

Amazon Alexa or Google Home assistants are the most popular smart devices that are now available globally. Let’s take a look at some smart home devices.  

Bill Gates’s Smart Home: Bill Gates's smart home, Xanadu 2.0 was built in the year 1997. His home has everything a person needs to lead a luxurious life. As visitors enter Bill’s 66,000 square feet smart home, they get an electronic pin to be attached to their clothes. The pin connects family members to the electronic services of the house. It gathers a person’s preferences including music volumes, ideal temperature, and lighting levels to meet and anticipate their needs. 

Mark Zuckerberg's AI Personal Assistant: Mark Zuckerberg’s voice-controlled Assistant - Jarvis, is used by family members to control everything at home. The project was completed in the year 2016 after 100 hours of hard work. Jarvis controls everything from switching off lights to moderating the volume of the music at home. The AI-enabled assistant enables Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla to switch on and off internet-connected power switches with voice commands. The voice assistant is tailored to identify the mood swings of husband and wife. To uplift the mood the assistant even plays light and rejuvenating music for them. 

Zelda Ocarina Home Automation System: Zelda Ocarina Home Automation system runs on the internet-connected Raspberry Pi and is linked to ESP8266 wifi modules around the home. The home automation system is designed to lock/ unlock doors and control heaters, TVs, smartphones, air conditioners, and other appliances. The IoT enabled smart system turn’s on lights by playing Sun’s song. While a person feeling cold has to play Bolero of fire song to switch on the heating system. 

Retro MS-DOS Light Controller: Home automation system X10-PowerHouse was launched in the year 1978. The small device controls lights and appliances with simple voice commands. It is compatible with IBM PC and MS-DOS systems. X-10 LAMP-Module LM465 is designed for home security and comfort. Users need to plugin LM465 with the X10 main controller to experience home automation.  

Do you need an IoT enabled smart automation system? Contact Oodles Technologies, we are a seasoned IoT App Development company. We provide enterprise-grade and consumer IoT applications that feature machine learning algorithms and advanced analytics. Our IoT solutions provide efficiency and improve services. We build smart products including home automation, security systems, industrial IoT and more. Contact us today!  

Enabling Accelerated Learning with Augmented Reality

Augmented reality (AR) is a technology that has applications in the education sector to simplify and accelerate learning about complex concepts. The technology adds a virtual layer in real-time within real world settings so learners can better relate to study topics. At Oodles Technologies, we receive similar AR Application Development Company inquiries from clients who want us to create interactive 3D 4D models for their learning solutions. Our AR/VR app developers use technologies like SparkAR to cater to their requirements.

Let's explore how Augmented Reality is impacting the education sector:-

 

Augmented Reality Classroom: The traditional classroom teaching methods were boring and it was difficult for the students to inherit the concepts easily. Students with different capabilities took longer to understand the concepts without practical demonstration. Augmented Reality (AR) technology uses 3D demonstration models to enable students to deeply understand the concepts in a virtually created environment. Augmented Reality Classroom training is highly beneficial for students with learning disabilities like Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia. 

 

Star Walk: Constellation Finder: The app enables students interested in astronomy to explore the night sky. Using the app student can discover the stars, constellations, and other objects in the sky. Students can practically demonstrate the movement of stars and other celestial bodies in the night sky. 

The app is designed for the hidden artists. Students can not only color the picture but they can customize its design based on their capabilities. The tridimensional, realistic touch enables students to showcase their creativity and unleash the hidden artist within them. 

– AR has replaced traditional textbooks with 3D and 4D models to make learning materials easily accessible. The technology is less expensive and more interactive for the students to gain practical knowledge. Education can be made accessible to students in remote areas with the help of Augmented Reality classrooms. Schools are now using AR animated content in the classrooms to increase students’ engagement within the topic. Students can use AR-enabled headsets like Oculus Go to scan the elements of a book and receive audio, video, and text from the teachers. 

To make chemistry fun and engaging for the students, an AR app Elements 4D was released. The students have to first make paper cubes from the special element blocks. Then the students can add cubes in front of their device’s camera to check chemical elements representations, names, and their atomic weights. Students can bring the elements together to check what chemical reactions happen when two elements meet. 

The space industry has always been the first one to adopt advanced technologies. Astronauts use AR and MR to maintain a space station. AR goggles enable workers to receive visual work instructions without having to look at the manuals. NASA tested the Sidekick project in which HoloLens was used to give virtual instruction and illustrations to the crew members. Also, According to NASA, the technology can reduce crew training requirements.  

Medical Students Training: Augmented Reality technology can be highly beneficial for medical practitioners to perform surgeries in a virtual environment. The technology enables medical students to learn how to deal with real patients students inside the operation theatre within an artificially created environment.  

Augmented Reality Technology can be highly fruitful for the education and training of employees at offices and manufacturing industries. Incorporating AR at schools, colleges, and universities make the learning process easier and effortless. The technology concentrates on the retention of concepts to prevent the students from revision work. 

Looking for Augmented Reality solutions for your business? We are a well established AR apps development company that uses the power of Augmented Reality to learning easier and interactive. Get in touch with our experts for more details!  

Building Mixed Reality and IoT Solutions Using Azure

Immersive applications, powered by next-gen technologies like augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality are rapidly gaining traction worldwide. After successfully transforming various industries like gaming, entertainment, and advertising, these technologies are set to enter the mainstream market. Several retail brands and e-commerce companies are already using AR VR techniques to enhance their customer experiences. An increasing number of hotel and restaurant chains are training their staff using real-life simulations powered by virtual reality.

Owing to the increasing popularity of these immersive technologies, several small-to-medium companies are investing in AR app development services. At Oodles, we receive several requests for building different types of AR, VR, and MR applications. A majority of clients propose building a multifold application with a serverless architecture. To fulfill their requirements, we use several high-end AR VR tools as well as platforms Azure, Google, and AWS. 

In this blog post, we shed some light on the main benefits of using Azure Spatial Anchors for building high-quality augmented and mixed reality applications. 

What Is Mixed Reality?

A majority of users are familiar with terms like augmented reality and virtual reality because of their increased global popularity. However, there is a lot of misconception about mixed reality amongst users. Many users can’t discern the difference between virtual reality and mixed reality. Although the mixed reality is essentially the enhanced version of virtual reality, it has several unique characteristics. In broad terms, mixed reality combines virtual elements with the real-world environment to create an immersive three-dimensional space where physical and virtual objects co-exist. 

Also read Enterprise Benefits of Implementing Cloud Based IoT Solutions

Building Mixed Reality Apps Using Azure Spatial Anchors

Azure Spatial Anchors is a fully managed cloud service from Microsoft that lets you build serverless mixed reality applications with cross-platform compatibility. Using Azure Spatial Anchors, developers can build high-quality applications for popular device platforms like Android, iOS, HoloLens, ARKit, and ARCore. Below are the main benefits of using Azure Spatial Anchors for building immersive mixed reality applications.

Creating Collaborative Experiences

With Azure Spatial Anchors, you can create immersive mixed reality experiences to collaborate with your peers in a more meaningful way. These collaborative experiences facilitate the study of complex elements and structures and provide an effective way to training staff. The mixed reality apps developed using Azure Spatial Anchors render support for a variety of devices such as HoloLens, ARKit-based iOS devices, and ARCore-based Android devices. You can develop apps using the native SDKs for the supported devices.

Location-based Holograms

Azure Spatial Anchors lets you create engaging three-dimensional spaces with virtual elements interacting with physical objects. You can easily map the virtual spaces by connecting points of interest to engage your target audience. Azure lets you place location-based holograms with minimal environmental setup or QR codes. One can share these holograms across multiple devices.

Infusing Artificial Intelligence and IoT Services

With Azure Spatial Anchors, you can easily integrate your application with next-gen technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning. Besides, you can integrate the mixed reality applications with IoT services to access through your connected devices. It also lets you develop standalone IoT applications with MR-based features and capabilities. At the same time, you can safeguard your mission-critical enterprise data with Azure cloud support. 

You may also be interested in reading Things To Consider For Augmented Reality App Development

Closing Remarks

Azure Spatial Anchors is used by several companies, mainly to enhance their staff training programs. For example, Pearson Education has built a mixed reality solution using Azure that enables nursing students to perform complex health diagnosis in a real-world environment. Similarly, several educational institutes use MR applications to train aspiring surgeons by letting them perform virtual surgeries. 

Why Choose Oodles Technologies For AR Application Development?

We are a seasoned AR application development company that builds high-quality AR/VR and Mixed Reality applications with cross-platform compatibility. We use the latest tools and technologies to build immersive AR/VR/MR applications that maximize user engagement and interactivity. Our development team is skilled at using advanced tools and cloud platforms like Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud to build engaging AR/VR/MR applications with a serverless architecture. We also have our expertise in IoT application development and we provide seamless IoT integration for AR/VR/MR applications.

Benefits of Developing AR VR Apps with Amazon Sumerian

Our exposure to augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) applications has increased significantly in recent years. Organizations across industries see the potential of AR and VR apps for a range of uses including training and education.  They are integrating AR VR technologies to their web or mobile apps to generate curiosity in consumers for their products or services. AR, VR, and MR technologies provide a more immersive medium to engage with customers. Global consumer brands have shown a lot of interest in AR VR app development services since they were first introduced. Some notable instances of their adoption by technology leaders are as follows:-   

• Amazon Web Services (AWS) launched the Amazon Sumerian toolkit in 2017 to enable app developers’ create and run interactive AR VR apps. 

• Apple introduced an ARKit framework so that iPad and iPhone users can experience augmented reality (AR)
• Microsoft uses Mixed Reality (MR) to merge virtual objects with the real world.
• Facebook Spark AR Studio’s impressive tools create rich, relevant, and contextually-aware AR experiences to alter customers' decisions. 

A comparison table for building an AR VR app with and without Amazon Sumerian

Developing An AR VR App without Sumerian	Developing An AR VR App with Sumerian
Creating an AR VR app involves lots of complexities it starts:  Step 1: Decide an idea Step 2: Selecting the Framework Step 3: Defining a platform Step 4: Developing a platform Step 5: Developing appropriate graphics Step 6: Selecting and creating the backdrops.  Last Step: Publish the app	Developing an engaging AR app with Amazon Sumerian is easy: Step1: Decide an Idea Step 2: Build an App with Sumerian  Step3: Publish

Amazon Sumerian provides an easy to use interface that provides the following benefits: 

No VR/AR Expertise Needed: The Sumerian toolkit enables developers to build apps using AR, VR, and 3D graphics without any specialized programming or graphic skills. With Sumerian editor, developers can create, edit, and publish applications using a web browser.  

Lifelike Characters: Using Sumerian developers can create interactive 3D characters. The animated life-like characters can speak to a user in a variety of languages to create a more personalized experience for them. In-built services, Amazon Polly and Amazon Lex solutions can script scenes using automatic speech recognition (ASR), natural language understanding (NLU), and text-to-speech.   

Design Immersive Environments: Sumerian enables developers to design scenes that immerse users in 3D, lifelike surroundings populated with animated characters. Developers can import 3D objects into different scenes or use third party offerings from repositories like Turbosquid and Sketchfab to create AR, VR, and 3D environments. 

Runs on Multiple Platforms: Sumerian is platform-agnostic. It is based on the WebGL JavaScript API for graphic rendering and WebVR JavaScript API for virtual reality devices. It builds and runs a scene on browsers that support WebGL or WebVR graphics rendering including Oculus Rift, Oculus Go, HTC Vive, HTC Vive Pro, Lenovo Mirage, Google Daydream, and mobile devices. It supports ARCore for Android devices and ARKit framework for AR on iOS devices. 

Facebook Spark AR tool is another perfect tool for creating interactive AR VR apps. Click this link to learn more on the capabilities of SparkAR toolkit: Enhancing Consumer Apps with Spark AR 

Sumerian Use Cases

• Employee Education: Businesses are using Sumerian to create virtual classrooms to augment the training of their employees. Virtual scenes can be created to mimic the actual working environment to employees enabling them to absorb the concept faster. 
• Training Simulations: AR technology can provide an ideal environment where personnel can learn new techniques without risking physical damage or loss. Employees can receive hands-on training in specialized fields like law enforcement, aviation, healthcare, or industrial machinery through build scenes simulating real-world scenarios. For example, Simulation can be created to train surgeons on using a new variety of surgical instruments. 
• Field Service Productivity: AR can improve the productivity of employees in field related tasks. Interactive visuals produced with Sumerian can accelerate repairing, assembling, maintenance, and manufacturing processes. AR can enable technicians to look up schematics and accelerate their work in real-time. For instance, the AR app can demonstrate a worker on how to troubleshoot and repair machinery.
• Virtual Concierge: Businesses can use Sumerian for creating scenes with a Host that acts as a concierge to their end-users. The concierge can greet users, answer common questions, and guide them through the company’s services and offerings. Users can even engage with the concierge through a smartphone in a completely virtual portal using a head-mounted display.   
• Retail and Sales: Augmented Reality developers can create interactive apps using Sumerian for eCommerce platforms. Ikea Place is a leading online furniture store that utilizes AR capabilities to sell its products. The app augments users' decisions by virtually placing the products in their interiors. Businesses can use AR capabilities to train their sales team by creating virtual scenarios before they enter the main field. 

 

Benefits of VR, AR and MR technologies can be recognized by online and offline businesses.  These technologies play a great role in improving brand engagement, increasing business sales and profit.  Integrating AR, VR, MR with gaming apps or social media apps provides several interaction possibilities in a real-world setting. Creating a real-world environment for customers leads to a better online shopping experience, enriches learning and strengthens team collaboration.

Are you planning to upgrade your business apps with AR, VR and MR technologies? Talk to our software developers today. We are an AR app development company that builds robust and feature-rich applications for enterprises across the globe. We enable businesses from retail, real estate, and healthcare to incorporate AR, VR and MR technologies to provide immersive experiences. For more details contact our experts today!