Google, Intel and The Future of Intelligent Computing

Google and Intel have teamed up and are working on an Augmented Reality smartphone that will work on Google’s Project Tango technology to map and track 3D environments with Intel’s RealSense camera sensor. Project Tango is 3D mapping software developed by Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects group that aims to “give mobile devices a human-scale understanding of space and motion”. After a two-year incubation, it flew the nest in February in the form of a developer kit. Intel’s RealSense 3D camera technology is a continued focus for the firm, and a good fit for Project Tango as it essentially looks to do the same thing: map 3D environments on mobile devices.

According to Engadget, they have already produced a developer prototype of the smartphone. It looks like a normal smartphone. The prototype has has a 6-inch QHD display. It is 8.2mm thick and weighs 165 grams. It runs on Android 5.0.1 Lollipop, and has an Intel Atom X5 processor inside. The prototype smartphone has USB/HDMI combo port on the side for sending the display to a larger screen. The final version of the phone may feature USB Type-C.

This smartphone can be used to scan 3D objects and get three-dimensional portrayals of the environment in real-time. To capture the 3D graphics, users have to simply move the phone around. It can also map user’s movements with a breadcrumb trail. With its motion-tracking technology, this smartphone has a great potential for games.

Intel’s RealSense 3D camera technology and Google’s 3D mapping software will offer several new features on the smartphone, including depth sensing.

While describing how this phone will make the gamers happy, Nicole Lee who observed the demo of the prototype, says, “Intel spokesperson showed us a demo called Tango Blaster, which lets you play a first-person shooter with a modified NERF gun. You can shoot at enemies as usual, but thanks to the phone’s motion-tracking and depth-sensing tech, you can seek cover by going behind walls and find new robots to shoot by moving your phone-equipped gun around”.

According to RealSense product manager Michael Liu, Google and Intel’s technologies work well together. RealSense provides depth sensing and Tango takes care of the 3D motion tracking. He says, “RealSense and Project Tango are really complimentary technologies, the camera’s depth sensor works really well with Project Tango’s motion-tracking”.

The developer version of the smartphone will be available soon in the market and the consumer version will be launched in 2016.

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