Applications of augmented reality technology in design process

Introduction: design is a complex process that goes beyond creativity and sketch; it includes the integration of opinions, research on current technologies, evaluation of resources, and collaboration of people. Current three-dimensional effect maps do not fully express the designer's intentions; instead, virtual representation with augmented reality (AR) ensures significant improvements in the process. The objective was to characterize the application of AR technology in design process. Methods: a total of 20 articles in Spanish and English were extracted from Scopus, Science and Springer; using as keywords: augmented reality, industrial design, product design, architectural design, being more than 50 % of the last five years. Results: AR is a visualization tool that combines digitally created data with the real environment. AR environments within the design have three main characteristics, intuitive observation, informative visualization and immersive interaction. They focus on product visualization, usage simulation and ergonomic analysis, hybrid/augmented prototyping, industrial design assembly. The designer can view and interact with the prototype in a way that is realistic and also able to connect the virtual prototype with materialized designs. Conclusions: augmented reality technology guarantees improvements in production time, use of resources, effectiveness and acceptance of the design; It allows you to view the model on a real scale, modify and adjust the virtual space at will, as well as great adaptability and the possibility of positive feedback.