#projecttango

YES! Believe it! That’s #Google #ProjectTango - in my hands! 

Although it has been almost a year since the news about it was released, it hasn’t been easy trying to get my hands on it - let alone touch it!

But today - Fri 6 May’16 - I finally got to hold it - try it - and even test it out!

Recall ---

https://developers.google.com/project-tango/

Project Tango is a platform that uses computer vision to give devices the ability to understand their position relative to the world around them. It’s just like how you use your eyes to find your way to a room, to know where in the room you are, and know where the floor, the walls, and objects around you are. These physical relationships are an essential part of how we move through our daily lives. We want to give mobile devices this kind of understanding.

Its core technologies include: 

a) Motion tracking allows a device to understand position and orientation using Project Tango's custom sensors. This gives you real-time information about the 3D motion of the device.

b) Area Learning. Project Tango devices can use visual cues to help recognize the world around them. They can self-correct errors in motion tracking and relocalize in areas they've seen before.

c) Depth Perception. Depth sensors can tell you the shape of the world around you. Understanding depth lets your virtual world interact with the real world in new ways.

*Just imagine - the possibilities!

And a whole lot more from these 2 sites!

https://developers.google.com/project-tango/demos

This past weekend I had the rare opportunity to experiment with Google’s  Project Tango mobile device at a mini hackathon (hosted by Staten Island MakerSpace).

 In just few hours, I developed  two simple apps that explore the device’s motion tracking & depth sensing capabilities. 

What is Project Tango?

Project Tango is equipped with special motion tracking sensors, depth sensors and special cameras. This allows the device to sense where it is and how it moves through a space.

For example, if you are holding the device as you walk around the room, it will continuously detect your position in relation to the objects in the room-- walls, tables, floors, objects. The device also uses visual cues to recognize the world around it.

Making Apps

Adding Objects to a surface

In my first app you can add 3D lion statues anywhere in your room. This interaction can be useful for interior design and architectural planning.

Below you can see the depth perception and spatial awareness in action. The two identical lions sit on two different planes: the top stairs and the bottom floor.

Now take a look at the same two statues from the reverse angle. As you can see, the lions stay in place, just as they would in real life. Also, notice the size difference of a third lion in the foreground.

Real Time Motion Tracking

Next, I experimented with Project Tango’s motion tracking feature. My second app tracks your movement in real time and renders a trail behind you.  Below you can see a blue line visualizing my path as I walk around a room.

For fun, I used a fish to represent the user’s location and created an ocean environment on the screen. As the user walks around in real space, the fish moves around in the ocean.

Here’s a video of the two apps in action!