A new virtual shopping experience called Proxgy has launched in India. Via the app, people can shop online by booking a realworld human avatar, and provide live video and audio stream to users via a proprietary smart helmet. The Proxgy user app links the user to their avatar called Proxgy, a smart helmet with 360-degree rotatable camera, controlled by the user via a joystick just like a video-game.
It is interesting to note that the user can then see and listen live to what their Proxgy is seeing and hearing in the place of Proxgy’s service, while the user sits at home and asks their Proxgy to perform the tasks of his choosing via audio commands relayed. With this app one can also pay and reserve their chosen items at the shop, which can be picked later or get delivered.
It also has a motto: ‘The New Normal is Here, Be Everywhere!’. For Delhi-based Pulkit Ahuja, Co-founder, Proxgy, the idea started with an understanding about senior citizens being more susceptible of Covid-19. “Proxgy started as a dorm room service conceptualised for the elderly and other high risk-prone individuals as a pilot in the Capital during the citywide lockdown, wherein these people who were at a higher risk to coronavirus could stay safe at home while their younger, fitter proxgies navigated the city for them live using an off the shelf WhatsApp video call, helping them with their daily chores.” Ahuja gives a lowdown on the technological side of the things about Proxgy.
“The technological innovations have helped us create a truly immersive and augmented reality experience for the end-user. Proxgy is now using smart helmets, 3D viewing options, VR head controlled camera movements and one to many broadcasting abilities to provide the end-user an ultimate mix of the real and augmented worlds right at their home.”