Feature allows customers to envision various remodels in a “visually-rich and interactive way.”
Lowes has been launching groundbreaking technologies in their Innovations Labs since its inception, and the Holoroom was the first innovation to come from the lab, according to Innovative Retail Technologies. The Holoroom is a 3D home improvement simulator that lets customers visualize their dream rooms in virtual, real-time display.
Now, together with Microsoft, Lowes is piloting its new HoloLens technology at a “secret” store location in the Seattle area to help customers rethink their kitchens. The design tool uses the software giant’s HoloLens virtual reality technology to display kitchen remodeling options. Using the HoloLens, Lowe’s customers can test out different cabinets, appliances, colors and finishes in a sample space and share their designs online.
The technology is a mixed reality solution, allowing customers to adjust the proportions in the virtual room while also comparing them against physical options. It also allows Lowe’s to enhance the customer full-scale design and appliance options while also maximizing precious in-store floor space.
In a Microsoft blog post by HoloLens general Manager Scott Erickson, the company wrote, “Lowe’s has a long history of helping people reinvent spaces, quite literally, from the ground up. And home improvement is an incredibly visual undertaking. It can be difficult to conceptualize a full-scale remodel using just sample squares and paint swatches. We are excited to partner with Lowe’s to help reinvent visualization and design in a whole new way, using holograms.”
Lowe’s also plans to pilot it in the Raleigh, NC market soon. The blog also states that kitchens and showrooms are just the beginning; this technology will become the future of home renovations in all spaces. “Imagine a view of your custom kitchen, within your existing kitchen space or reviewing options for a brand new dining room table and chairs without ever leaving home,” it postulates.
Lowe’s has been experimenting with virtual reality and related technology for several years now, since the creation of the Innovation Labs. “Lowe’s wants to lead innovation by developing disruptive technologies that will help us establish a long-term competitive advantage,” said Kyle Nel, executive director of Lowe’s Innovation Labs. “Lowe’s Innovation Labs will allow us to quickly bring in new technology and new partners, explore a wide range of possibilities and identify opportunities to develop concepts like the Holoroom.”
