Article
Home renovation design experience goes high tech at Lowe's
Lucky Lowe's shoppers in Seattle will be using Microsoft HoloLens for kitchen design efforts.
March 23, 2016
Lowes is pulling in Microsoft's HoloLens technology to revamp how consumers approach home renovation and it's starting in the kitchen.
The hologram technology will help shoppers better visualize and design spaces and goes way behind just taping up paint squares and wood samples, according to a Microsoft blog.
"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 were excited to partner with Lowe's to help reinvent visualization and design in a whole new way, using holograms," states the blog post.
Lowe's is debuting HoloLens in select pilot stores to demonstration design options for kitchen cabinets, appliances, countertops and backsplashes. Shoppers will have a clear view of the designed new kitchen and share the design online.
"Now people can view, in life-like realism, large items like cabinets, appliances and countertops in size and scale with incredibly high-definition options and detailed finishes. The holographic details are rich and allow users to even see the differences between shiny chrome appliances versus matte brushed aluminum options," explains the blog. "This mixed reality solution was important, so that customers can remain within the physical kitchenette and view options and adjustments to that existing physical space, alongside physical options, in the form of holograms. A miniature hologram kitchen allows for a bird’s eye perspective of the kitchen."
For Lowe's the benefit is providing customers a whole new retail customer experience while also providing efficient use of store floor space. The HoloLens design in progress can be viewed by others using a Surface tablet. The technology is debuting in a Seattle store this month and will be piloted in Raleigh, North Carolina.
In the future the technology can be used to design homes way beyond the kitchen and the Lowe's showroom, states the blog.
"We imagine that a solution like this would be an ideal way to view renovation options in individual homes. In the same way that people often place tape or cardboard outlines of new furniture in their living rooms to properly assess size and scale relative to physical options — imagine a more high-quality, easily modifiable replacement to that task, powered by holograms. 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," states Microsoft.
