Learning about Pokemon Go and Holographic Tech at TENWEST Festival

photo by anita c. fonte

My first session at Tucson's TENWEST Festival last week was titled: Augmented Reality, and began with two enthusiastic speakers from the City of Tucson/Reid Park Zoo.  The executive director, Jason Jacobs and their event planner, Melissa McCargar, shared the "fast track" story about how the zoo incorporated Pokemon Go (an augmented reality game) into their summer schedule.  Expecting 500-1,000 paying patrons on 2 nights at the zoo, who would be looking for Pokemon characters, the event ballooned into 3-4,000 people and extended to 5 nights. Partnering with Tucson Comic-Con and the local business, Heroes & Villains, the expanded event netted $68,000 for the zoo and 200 new memberships.

The second speaker, Peter Nolan, from Tactile Company/Phoenix promoted Microsoft's HoloLens--a tech tool combining virtual and augmented reality=mixed reality.  As he demonstrated the tool, holographic 3D images were shown (using google maps) of Reid Park Zoo and (for 3D excitement) Niagara Falls.

Although much of this information (and the tools) are beyond my practice, learning about them helped me imagine how to embrace the new tech world with a little less anxiety and consider the possibilities for: a) using these resources to expand interest in and support of entertainment venues (such as the zoo), and b) using a HoloLens to train employees in "how to" do a virtual task without having to actually "do" it, thus avoiding unnecessary risks on the job.

So, right from the start, Tucson's 2nd TENWEST Festival www.tenwest.com had me at "hello."