Niantic partners with Augment Therapy to expand Peridot franchise with physical rehabilitation experiences

Hi everyone,

My name is Asim, Global Product Marketing Lead for Peridot, and I'm excited to share some news about our Peridot franchise that I’m incredibly passionate about.

Virtual pets have long been a source of fun and entertainment. But what if they could help us recover from injuries and illnesses, too?

Today we’re announcing our partnership with Augment Therapy, a digital health company building accessible immersive exercise software for healthcare. Together, we aim to help people recover from injuries and illnesses faster by creating new Peridot-inspired experiences for physical rehabilitation use cases in pediatric and geriatric care. What makes this partnership truly exceptional is our shared vision: leveraging cutting-edge technology to encourage movement and promote well-being.

From the inception of Peridot, we’ve viewed this franchise as more than just a game; it’s a platform for technological innovation and social good. Following the launch of our mobile game, we’ve explored how Peridot can raise awareness for pride, promote sustainability, and even enhance mental well-being.

I strongly believe that we can make an even greater positive impact in the world with a heartwarming franchise like Peridot, and that’s why I'm so excited to explore this collaboration with Augment Therapy. Over the coming months they will use their proven model of AR-based therapeutic experiences to prototype a variety of Peridot-inspired experiences for use in clinical settings, aiming to boost patient engagement in physical, occupational, and speech therapy exercises. While engaging with their Dots in an augmented reality format, patients will be encouraged to perform different therapeutic movements such as throwing, brushing, and walking with their virtual pet. 

Animals have long been integral in helping people recover from injuries and illnesses, offering emotional support and encouraging movement. But what if those animals weren’t real? What if your rehabilitation companion was a virtual pet? With Augment Therapy’s existing installations in top pediatric hospitals, outpatient rehab clinics, long-term care facilities, and schools across the U.S. and internationally, we’re eager to explore these questions and quickly assess the impact for individuals of all ages and abilities. 

As part of the partnership, we’ll conduct multi-phased research to explore the impact of how digital creatures and content can enhance motivation and performance during rehabilitation. This research will build upon lengthy existing evidence in animal-assisted “pet” therapy techniques and measure the impact on engagement in therapeutic exercise when these interactive “pets” are virtual.

As someone who spent many of his early years in and out of the hospital overcoming various medical challenges, I've gained a deep appreciation for the work that Augment Therapy does in this space to make rehabilitation more interactive, enjoyable, and feel more like play rather than therapy. We’ve already started testing a very early prototype of one of the therapeutic exercises we aim to build for and have seen some promising results.