Pokemon GO was revolutionary for augmented reality and really shined light upon how this concept works. Augmented reality is the use of technology to enhance or augment a users view of the real world. Its the ability to insert digital and/or virtual information into the real word, which can be done via computer generated images. Personally, I believe augmented reality is an interesting concept, especially the way Pokemon GO has incorporated it into their mobile application.
I’m pretty sure everyone above the age of 8 is aware of what Pokemon is. It first came to be in the age of the Gameboy, which is a handheld gaming platform the size of a dinosaur, but now Niantic has brought the game back to the app store and the android market. Pokemon GO was very successful and had more than 20 million active users. In addition, Pokemon Go was used more times a day than Facebook which is huge. Pokemon Go had augmented reality to thank for its success. Augmented reality has been around for a while, however, what makes Pokemon GO stand out is the way they integrated augmented reality into their mobile platform. It’s revolutionary!
Pokemon GO has partnered with Alphabet and Google maps, so they could incorporate the world’s best navigation system into their app. This is one way they are implementing augmented reality. Everyone knows the concept of Pokemon, “you gotta catch ‘em all.” Only now, you have to interact with the real world to play. There are many pros and cons to this. First, kids are getting more exercise by walking around town, going to parks, and meeting up with friends more often to “catch Pokemon.” This is an amazing movement that will help overweight and antisocial kids. Not only does this app promote physical daily activity, however it also encourages people to get together and converse.
There are some cons as well which are pretty scary in my opinion. Sexual predators and kidnappers have taken liking to this app and have used it to camp out at the “Poke-stops” to find easy and vulnerable targets. There was also a story of a little girl crossing a major intersection, but she was so distracted playing Pokemon GO that she got hit by a car. Thankfully the girl is okay, however her mother is currently suing the app. With all great advancements come some difficulties. Pokemon GO is working on making the poke-stops safer, and it’s also working on informing individuals to be cautious of their surrounding while playing. For example, as soon as you launch they app it immediately warns you to never play Pokemon and drive. All in all, I am really fascinated about how Pokemon GO integrated augmented reality into their mobile platform and am glad they did.
Sources:
http://fortune.com/2016/07/23/pokemon-go-augmented-reality/
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nianticlabs.pokemongo&hl=en