Why it matters to you
Navigating the crowded aisles of a bustling Lowe’s can be difficult but augmented reality is here to help.
Can’t find your way around the stacks of two-by-fours and buckets of paint? Maybe Lowe’s new app can help. On Thursday, the home improvement mecca announced the launch of Lowe’s Vision: In-Store Navigation app, heralded as “the first retail application of indoor mapping using augmented reality.” The app makes use of Google’s augmented reality technology Tango and is meant to make improving your home easier — at least, the part where you buy the materials you need.
Beginning in April, customers in Sunnyvale, California, and Lynwood, Washington stores will be able to use Tango-enabled smartphones to aid in their shopping process. Just decide what home improvement goods you need, search for them via the app, and locate them in the store by way of augmented reality. You can even keep tabs on all the products you may need to purchase in the app’s shopping list.
“Our research shows that helping make it easier for customers to find products in stores not only makes for a better shopping experience, it allows our associates to spend more time advising on home improvement projects,” said Kyle Nel, executive director of Lowe’s Innovation Labs. “With Lowe’s Vision: In-Store Navigation, we’ve created a more seamless experience using breakthrough technology so customers can save time shopping and focus more on their project.”
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Lowe’s new app actually features quite a bit of technology — Tango-enabled motion tracking, area learning, and depth perception come together to help you find your way through the labyrinth that can be a sprawling store, all using a mixed reality interface.
This actually isn’t the first app from Lowe’s to leverage Tango. Lowe’s Vision is also available for home improvement customers, and promises to behave as a “digital power tool,” allowing users to measure spaces and visualize how products might look in their homes.