Is Augmented Reality ready to revolutionize the election campaign?

Do you think Augmented Reality is ready to revolutionize the election campaign? As we know Augmented Reality is quick to enter in most of the industry. Some of the prominent industries in which Augmented Reality is already reaching height are education, gaming, advertisement, retail, fashion, media and entertainment, healthcare, and so on. AR has an immense potential to disrupt the ongoing traditional workflow of the market. It has numerous use cases varying from safe and interactive training to the rich and immersive experience. In this article, we will see how the touch of Augmented reality is all set to revolutionize political campaigns.

We are living in the 21^st century where technology is driving the world. Tech has touched almost every sphere of our lifestyle. It is being used to improve the system or remove unnecessary workload. Though in the election we are still feet away from widely integrating this advanced technology. We are still relying on conventional methods like boards, hoardings, flux, and many more.  Political parties use different strategies to influence people. With time the adoption of technologies like social media in marketing has impacted political campaigns. But now, with so many issues around it is high time to pull advanced technology in election campaigns.  Augmented Reality is marking remarkable changes in advertisement industries. With increasing competition, political parties need to come up with new methods to reach the audience.

What is the application of Augmented Reality in election campaigns?

•         Interactive approach to reach people: It can be used to tell people about different issues based on location. People can find out the crime data, development index, etc. People can easily know during which government tenure, development was best. Audiences can also know the was the government able to fulfill whatever he promised in terms of jobs, security, budgets, and more.  Augmented Reality apps can be highly efficient, impactful, and interactive in election campaigns. AR helps to merge the digital world and the physical world.
•         Advanced marketing: Use of AR in the election campaign has opened new ways of marketing. Using customized AR apps, users can just point the camera towards hoardings or printed material and get all information related to the party.
•         Increases Public interaction: This will play a crucial role in convincing potential voters. User can drop their message to Government as well as add comments and ratings.
•         Lead for new ideas: New ideas come with a new generation. The new generation belongs to the youth. Youths are not much into the traditional election process but are highly invested in technology. AR apps are one of the best ways to connect with youths and let them have an opportunity to share their views.
•         Environment friendly: When the election is around, we can see numerous hoardings everywhere. Plastic hoardings are undoubtedly a threat to nature as well as major wastage of money. We can use dynamic technology like Augmented Reality to make it an environmental friendly approach.
•         Political awareness: Using AR apps you can easily know photos, videos, and campaigns of candidates. People can have a graph of what happened in their region in particular the Government’s tenure.

Some strict guidelines are must follow before deploying the project:

The incorporation of technology could be misused as well. So, we need to have strict rules and regulations to prevent misuse. Some of the ways that can be practiced are mentioned below:

•         Data Privacy: Political candidates need to get special permission to collect data from any region. The concerned bodies should make sure to inhibit access to sensitive data. Electoral bodies need to ensure data privacy before granting permission.
•         Consistent content monitoring: The spread of fake news and rumors should be prohibited and strict action should be taken against it. Regular invigilation of application is a must to ensure proper and apt content is being displayed.
•         Strict guidelines to use the AR app: Electoral bodies need to have strict guidelines for parties using AR apps. A concerned person should not display sensitive information on the application. Personal information of the opponent should not be misused using the app.

Some examples of uses of Augmented Reality in elections:

Technology has its pros and cons, we humans are born with a conscience so we need to use it judiciously. Let us see some judicious use of Augmented Reality in election campaigns:

•         The presidential election of Nigeria from Africa: Presidential candidate of All progressives Congress (APC), retired General Muhammadu Buhari, and Professor Yemi Osinbajo adopted AR strategies to reach the youth of the country. The user of the app just has to point the camera to the party logo and scan it. The party was quick to find out new ways to increase the interest of youth and their ideas in elections. The app has an interaction system that helps to increase the engagement of youth. It makes the young population feel important and responsible for the nation’s growth. With the help of the app, youth could send replies and a new idea of problems stated on social media. It is also allowed to take pictures using both candidates and post it on different social media platforms.
•         According to Edward Snowden: Though Edward Snowden is an infamous name, but the personality has an interesting opinion in context to use Of AR in politics. He expects he will be able to talk with people as though he is there in the room with them, courtesy of Virtual and Augmented Reality. “ Augmented Reality can increase civic engagement and change the way people see their surroundings”.
•         GEC app developed in Kerela: GEC app was developed for campus election at Govt. Engineering College Thrissur, Kerela. The Augmented GEC app was introduced by Infusory Future Tech Labs.  It helps to reduce the use of plastic by eliminating hoardings. The team lead Shyam said, “ Through this technology, one can get to know the candidates better and understand their ideology.”

Summing up:

The technology has witnessed huge growth over the past few years and a lot is yet to explore. Would love to know, new ideas and views from you.