A new mobile app will be launched by sports apparel manufacturing company Nike which is powered by a new augmented reality tool which can be used by users to actually measure the size of their feet and accordingly suggest the sneakers that would be the best fit.

And while many would try and say that this is one of the more frivolous ways of making use of the strongly growing AR technology, many would in fact applaud the idea behind the new app too. This app AR powered tool is aimed to assist online purchases because such purchases are often difficult due to unavailability of physical tryout of the shoes. This app would actually make up that shortcoming by allowing a purchaser to see exactly how well a sneaker would fit his or her foot. Additionally, it is alleged that brands are sometimes are faulty about their shoe size because they are often not standardized. For example, size 9 of one brand can be different in fit compared to the same size of another brand.

In the case of Nike, according to analysts and market experts, its shoes are often smaller in size compared to the same sized shoes of other brands. This also makes purchasing Nike sneakers online is extra hard even if one has the most accurate measurement of one’s foot size.

The new Nike app would help to measure each foot individually because of the new AR feature. The app would be able to measure the size, shape, and volume of each foot with an accuracy of within 2 millimeters. The app then would suggest the specific size of Nike sneakers in the style the users is looking for so that it is the best possible fit. This is achieved by the app and AR feature by conducting a match of the user’s measurements to the internal volume already known for each of its shoes. The app also makes use of the purchase data of people who have similar-sized feet.

Apart from being available for Nike app users, the main feature of this new technology would also be used by Nike at its retail stores for measuring foot and shoes. This reflects the confidence that the company has on this new feature.

The company would be rolling out the feature in the United States market in July this year while it also plans to introduce the feature in the European market a month later in August.

The app has been named “Nike Fit” and is an iOS app and a user can make use of the new AR tool in the product page in the app where it is placed beside the normal shoe size menu.

Once the app feature is activated, it would open the camera of the iPhone and ask the user to stand straight next to a wall and point camera down at his or her feet. The app would suggest the correct or the best fit sneakers after everything is level and the feet are recognized by the AR tool as well as the environment.

“The entire process takes less than a minute,” Engadget reported.

(Adapted from TheVerge.com)