For more than a decade, the allure of bringing holograms into the retail space has been tantalizing the investment community. Coretec Group (OTCPK:CRTG), then called 3DIcon, was a leader at getting microcap traders revved up about casting realistic holograms into stores, showing with fine detail things like diamonds, cars and other consumer goods without the product actually being there.
While Coretec continues to work on its 3D static volumetric display, holographic display technology more broadly has advancing substantially and Future Farm Technologies (CSE:FFT)(OTCQX:FFRMF) says it is ready to bring it to the booming cannabis market.
Thursday morning, Future Farm, a Canada-based company focused on cannabis cultivation and retail products, announced a new partnership between its partially owned subsidiary NexTech AR Solutions and tech firm ARHT Media (TSX-V:ART)(OTCQB:ARHTF) that will launch ARHT's proprietary holographic and telepresence technology into the marijuana business.
Last month, Canada passed the so-called "Cannabis Act," paving the way for legal recreational marijuana in the country starting in mid-October. In the U.S., 30 states, Washington D.C., Guam and Puerto Rico permit medical marijuana, while recreational pot is legal in nine states and D.C., creating a North American market expected to reach about $50 billion in the next decade, according to Arcview Market Research.
"Imagine walking into your local dispensary and being able to see a 3D, eight-foot image of a cannabis bud spinning around with a 360-degree view of every trichrome, every fiery orange hair, the sugary crystals, chunky knobs enveloped by tiny leaves, without any special glasses," commented Reuben Tozman, Chief Product Officer of NexTech, in today's news release.
ARHT has proven the merits of its technology, successfully "beaming in" interviewees for a press conference at the launch of the Audi Cup 2017, amongst other demonstrations of the technology's utility, including a hologram presentation by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Per the licensing pact, NexTech will have exclusive global rights to ARHT's technology. In return for the rights, NexTech has agreed to buy at least 12 holographic display units annually from ARHT for the next five years and pay ARHT royalties on commercial use of the displays.
Further, NexTech is responsible for footing the bill for the development and rollout budget for the development of ARHT's intellectual property.
Just after the opening bell Thursday, shares of FFRMF are down four cents at $0.26. CSE-listed shares of Future Farm are flat at 33 cents.
ARHTF stock is also even at $0.255, while Canadian shares up 4.6% at $0.34.
