Tipping Point

CEO Corner : Article

It’s been over 15 years since Malcom Gladwell wrote “The Tipping Point.” Gladwell defined the tipping point as “the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point.”Tipping-Point.jpg

As much as it’s defined as a “point,” it’s often tough to define a precise moment of time when something tips. Except this week.

You see, a week ago someone asked me “Does your son play Pokémon Go?” And I didn’t know what it was. A week—and tens of millions of downloads later—it’s one of the most popular apps of all time.

But this is about more than a game—it’s about technology. And Pokemon Go represents a tipping point for Augmented Reality.  

AR is an exciting technology that’s about a lot more than Bulbasaurs and Charizards. Imagine a hard hat with a visor that lets a worker know the temperature of a pipe. That’s augmented reality. Or a pair of glasses that enables a nurse to tell a patient’s body temperature. That’s augmented reality, too. A few years ago at TED, Chris Kluwe gave a great talk about how AR will change sports.

It’s a remarkable technology that has hit its tipping point. 

So what does that mean for standards groups and associations? As a technology takes off, so, too will the need for standards. And as people wander into streets looking for Pokemon, look for regulations on AR to start to be discussed. Companies in AR will need to share best practices.

That’s why we’re so excited to have clients like the AREA, the Augmented Reality for Enterprise Alliance. They’ll help us do a lot more than find animated characters. They’ll help a new technology that’s reached its tipping point change the world.

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