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Phoenix666 [soylentnews.org] writes:

As a kid, I always wanted to be on the TV show "Supermarket Sweep."

In the middle of a Lowe's store in 2017, my dream almost came true. The home improvement retailer is rolling out an augmented-reality app that tells you the fastest way to find items on your list [cnet.com].

It's powered by Google's Tango [cnet.com], an indoor-mapping technology using special cameras to sense depth in 3D space. Measure objects, map a room and see virtual objects in the real world with augmented reality.

With a phone in one hand and a shopping cart in the other, I'm rushing around the aisles pulling items off the shelf. On screen I see a yellow line overlaid on the camera image, navigating me to the next item on my list. There's an aisle and shelf number in case I get really confused, as well as an estimate step counter that tells me how far I have to go.

App sorely needed. Lowe's Law: Employees don't know where anything is; have never heard of the item you're seeking; and when you point to the exact item on Lowe's own app, tell you it's "web-only."

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