It’s a kids’ game! It’s a waste of time! And, it may change the world. It’s just the beginning for technology called augmented reality.
Pokemon GO launched in the U.S. on July 6, 2016 and a week later the app had more users than Twitter. This represents a watershed moment for augmented reality and it’s very likely that this technology will be everywhere you look within the next three years, including on snow.
Augmented reality allows users to see virtual information overlaid on the actual landscape either through a smart phone or smart eyewear. Imagine a world where smart eyewear brings your virtual ads into users’ fields of vision as they approach your retail shop. In a very good article on How Retailers Can Capitalize on Pokemon GO, Forbes magazine recommends that retailers invest in “lures” to “hang off the nearest Pokestop” and will bring “trainers” (Pokemon players) into your shop. They also recommend creating promotions specific to Pokemon players or “trainers”
Imagine an augmented reality game that can be played on snow and now imagine advertising snow sports products in that app, or offering in-app purchases of your brand’s products. This isn’t just for kids.
In fact, augmented reality is already on snow; the Recon Snow2 puts a HD display into your goggles. Brands including Zeal Optics (Z3 GPS), Oakley (Oakley Airwave 1.5), and Smith Optics (IO Recon) offer goggles that feature the Recon technology. The Recon display appears to the users as a 14 inch device approximately 5 feet in front of them even though it’s a tiny HD display inside your goggles. It displays metrics like speed, distance, vertical drop, navigation, friend tracking, and smartphone connectivity so you can see incoming text messages, calls, music controls and other compatible apps.
Of course there are many details to work out, including safety issues but this technology will have a major impact on all markets and it will happen quickly. Keep your eye on it (forgive the pun) to be on the front of this social and technological wave.
