New app lets you virtually paint your room 'live'

Choosing the right color of paint to decorate your home can be a risky business, but a new augmented reality app which lets users visualize the results before opening the paint could help the decision-making process.

Choosing the right color of paint to decorate your home can be a risky business, but a new augmented reality app which lets users visualize the results before opening the paint could help the decision-making process.

The Dulux Visualizer allows home owners to see the results of a paint job 'live' as they move around the room in question with their tablet or mobile device.

The brainchild of paint and chemicals company AkzoNobel, which counts Dulux among its brands, and String, a UK-based perceptual computing company, the app is being released this summer and is available free of charge on iOS and Android.

It is thought to be the first time a global paint brand has developed an AR tool.

'The capability to choose real paint colors, and then preview them live on your own walls, will we hope, remove some of the risk that consumers might worry about,' said Paul Skidmore, Director of Product at String.

Augmented reality apps are becoming increasingly popular in the world of interior décor -- earlier this year startup company CSTM unveiled an app which allows users to point their tablet at a room space to register measurements and visualize furniture pieces in context.

The Ikea app also lets consumers virtually test out what the brand's furniture will look like in their own homes.

The Dulux Visualizer app can be downloaded from the App Store and Google Play