Google unveils 3D smartphone technology project
The project known as "Project Tango" aims to incorporate robotics and vision-processing technology.
Google has announced a new research project which aims to bring 3D technology to smartphones. The project is called Project Tango. Google hopes that it will make way for applications that might include indoor navigation for the blind and more immersive videogames.
The company has developed a prototype smartphone which is equipped with a collection of cameras, sensors and chips that create a three-dimensional map of user’s surroundings.
The search giant has said that it would provide the prototype to outside developers so that they are encouraged into writing new applications.
According to project leader Johnny Lee, the goal of the project is to incorporate robotics and vision-processing technology and give mobile devices a human-scale understanding of space and motion.
“What if you could capture the dimensions of your home simply by walking around with your phone before you went furniture shopping?” Google said on its Project Tango web page.
When it comes to games, the technology could be used for “playing hide-and-seek in your house with your favourite game character.
The smartphones are equipped with sensors which make over 1.4 million measurements per seconds, updating the position and rotation of the phone. Google has partnered with researchers from the University of Minnesota, George Washington University, German tech firm Bosch and the Open Source Robotics Foundation, among others.
Source: AFP