Google Project Tango is bringing in awareness of space to Google and all their related devices. The technology is set to be more precise than any other technology currently available.
Why Did Google Make This Pre-Announcement?
The prototype technology was named Project Tango in early 2014. It was first announced as something completely different from what the giant’s other projects are about. Google is used to planning ahead and sticking to deadlines and testing things with the public actively. With this project, it was more about doing now and thinking afterwards.
Project Tango’s trajectory seems to be a lot vaguer than other ventures like Project Loon or Google Glass. So this announcement is a call to arms for developers that are interested in the technology. They are likely looking for ground-breaking applications for this kind of technology. Video games, or for assistance to the visually or hearing impaired are a good contender. In the end, Google has shipped out the 200 prototypes it has to developers.
New Google Approach: Build Now, Find Uses Later
This is taking artificial intelligence one step further by making a device aware of its position and what’s around it. The prototypes feature a huge number of sensors, a front and back camera, a gyroscope and an accelerometer. There’s a new infrared emitter next to the rear camera. This picks up the reflections the grid makes.
This is a little like how Microsoft’s Kinect works. Except instead of being a commodity for the user, it is a commodity for the device. This, combined with the other sensors and the accelerometer, gyroscope and barometer give the phone all the tools it needs to build a map of the world around it and its precise location in it.
Future Versions of The Google Project Tango Will Be Game Changers
For developers, the device has seen incredible growth. Its most recent iteration is more fit for tablets than for mobile phones. According to developer accounts, the heights that the technology has reached are almost scary.
Google Project Tango Also Has a Minecraft Demo
Like the Microsoft HoloLens, Google has also gotten its hands on a Minecraft demo, and it took developers on a real joyride. They were quoted as having described the experience as almost real as if the device was perfectly aware of this virtual world as they were of the real, physical world.
Testing for this device proved to be a great adventure. It allows for shooting down enemies, sprinting, ducking and stepping into a portal to the Jurassic period. The bite of a T-Rex brings the demos to a close. It surely sets Google in gear to compete with the big guys once they find a proper application for it.
