Moto Z Tango Moto Mod to bring AR functionality to Moto Z series

Motorola CEO Aymar de Lencquesaing said today that the company is going to release a Moto Mod that will enable AR functionality on the Moto Z series. The first Project Tango project commercially available, the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro phablet, was launched in the beginning of this month. With a 6.4-inch screen and its multiple cameras and sensors, the Phab 2 Pro can allow a home owner to virtually map a room quickly and move around virtual images of real world objects on top of the map.

Now it appears that Motorola wants to bring some of the Phab 2 Pro's capabilities to the Moto Z line up through the use of the modular snap-on accessories. The Moto Z Tango Moto Mod could add the additional cameras and sensors that would allow the Moto Z Force Droid to become a VR and AR beast. Imagine a scenario where a furniture outlet sends out flyers with images of chairs, tables or couches. Combining the mapping capabilities of the phone with these images, a homeowner could see if a particular couch looks good in a particular spot through the use of AR/VR. Using a fingertip on the touchscreen, the couch could be moved throughout an entire floor of a home until the perfect location for it is found. Once that occurs, another tap on the phone could quickly order it.

CEO de Lencquesaing made his announcement today in Chicago. The executive didn't disclose a possible launch date for the product, nor was pricing mentioned. The executive did say that "Augmented reality on a phone is a technology that’s likely to stick. Of course we’ll follow, or lead, the market in this area." That is a rather strange thing to say since those are the only two choices that Motorola could make outside of dropping out of VR/AR, and that does not seem likely.

Also announced today, Motorola CMO Jan Huckfeldt said that for next year, both Motorola and Lenovo will combine their branding under the Moto name. The Lenovo brand will not be seen as much, with Moto becoming the main name for mobile products. This dovetails with a Lenovo/Motorola roadmap for 2017 that we showed you earlier this month.


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source: TheVerge