Lowe’s to launch augmented-reality app

Associated Press

NEW YORK

Lowe’s will launch an app early next month that will use augmented reality to make it easier to envision what a piece of furniture will look like in your home or office.

Users will be able to use smartphones to view digital images of furnishings at scale in whichever room they wish, the company said Monday.

The app will include the ability to rotate the images, or duplicate them.

An online catalog produced by The Mine, a Lowe’s company, will feature goods that can be digitally placed in rooms and, if desired, bought.

Lowe’s Cos., which is based in Mooresville, N.C., also announced an augmented reality app, available immediately, that could replace the tape measure with an iPhone.

The app lets customers measure walls, sofas or any other object they want with their iPhone.

The app, called Measured by Lowe’s, uses the smartphone’s camera to measure items in a room.