When I first heard about Pokémon Go, I knew that it could be the one to 'nail' Augmented Reality.
First off, it was mobile, and the notion of a tightly geofenced overlay to the physical world was potent.
It was also inevitable in the sense that this idea has been in many people's heads (myself included) for a long time, but never had its moment of excellence when the total composition (package) came together.
This reminded me of the words of Intel pioneer, Federigo Fagin, who once said, "Because there is a certain inevitability about inventions of this sort... the real contribution lies, first, in making the idea work.”
In mobile, the iPhone has an excellent dual function camera and display, perfect for visual overlay.
Add in touch, tilt, pinch-zoom and flick, and app-lify it, and the medium takes off.
In any event, after indoctrinating myself in the basics (barely) of capturing Pokémon, I hit a prolonged dry spell where landmarks that were within reach required Pokémon Coins that I did not have.
Frustrated, I headed home, but left my iPhone on with the App running.
Suddenly, the App sprung to life and there was Pokémon in the area.
I could not pass up this opportunity, so I pulled over the car.
Shortly, as I captured Squirtle (to your right), I noticed out of the corner of my eye that the Sheriff's car was approaching slowly.
Nervously, I rolled down the window. "Is there any problem?" the officer asked.
No, I said, adding that I had to do something on my phone, and I thought it best to pull the car over.
He seemed to appreciate that, and wished me a good evening.
I didn't tell him why I pulled over was to capture a Pokémon.
