Lego haunts building blocks with AR ghosts

Lego is planning on debuting its first line of building blocks that work with a mobile app to show AR imagery. The "Lego Hidden Side" app will let kids see virtual ghosts in a series of eight haunted building sets that will be available from August. 

Toy creators have faced challenges from the growing popularity of smartphones and tablets over the past decade, but Lego's AR-enhanced building blocks may give children a way to combine their screen usage with physical play.

The AR feature will be used to help boost brand awareness and drive engagement and sales.

The use of AR as a mobile gaming feature was first popularised by the app Pokémon Go, which launched in July 2016. The app was downloaded more than 750 million times in its first year. Niantic, the company that co-developed the game, is working on releasing a Harry Potter: Wizards Unite app based on the hit children's books by J.K. Rowling later this year.

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