Fani Kiran Vulapalli

It makes absolutely perfect sense that augmented reality would find its way into an Iron Man toy. Tony Stark and AR go together like peanut butter and jelly. The Iron Man films, borrowing inspiration heavily from Minority Report, show an alternate universe where a man can slap on a tiny headset and get a cool computer graphics overlay onto his very real world. When Apple and Google both announced AR toolkits, it seemed like only a matter of time before we saw AR experiences that let you play pretend like you’re in an Iron Man suit. And it was. But what’s really surprised me about  Hasbro’s new Hero Vision Iron Man AR Experience  is that it costs just $50. For everything that’s included that feels like a pretty nice bargain for baby’s first augmented reality experience! Disney and Lenovo’s comparable  Star Wars  AR experience goes for $200—a price I felt was simply too much when reviewed it . To be fair to Lenovo and Disney the tech beh...

Flashlights and toy lightsaber might do a decent job of making you feel like a Jedi when you’re twelve, and fancy prop reproductions might do the job when you’re adult. But it is all still make believe. You’re not taking on Darth Vader in your living room, you’re waving a toy and making “vrm vrrm” noises. A new augmented reality game from Disney hopes to change that. Star Wars: Jedi Challenges is Disney’s first standalone augmented reality machine. Created in conjunction with Lenovo, it’s a $200 set that includes a headset, tracking beacon and lightsaber remote. Pop your Android or iOS phone into the headset, put the beacon on the floor, ignite the lightsaber and your path to becoming a Jedi Master begins. Now, any product that promises to make you feel like a Jedi obviously has to be approached with a heapin’ helpin’ of skepticism. Giving people a lightsaber feel without providing them with an actual laser sword is not an easy task and it’s one fans have been drea...