Project Tango isn’t…
Why new technology should never be judged by the demo applications.
Project Tango looks amazing, and it’s easy to imagine all kinds of nerdy things one could do with it; this short demo video alone is enough that a lot of non-developers will want one. However, that’s using the technology itself as a toy; like a child playing with a compass or binoculars.
There is nothing wrong with playing around with new technology, us nerds do that enthusiastically every single day, but it’s when we start using it as tools that things start to get truly amazing; and I thought it’d give you an idea about what project Tango is capable of, as a tool.
Let’s begin by imagining a product like Google Glass, which has a camera and a display that either partially or completely covers the users eye(s).
Using pattern recognition a product like that is able to identify tvs, billboards, traffic signs and even, by name, individuals; the only real limitation is the imagination of the developer (and the size/battery of the hardware).
Once a “target” is identified you don’t need to start over searching for it again and again in each and every frame, there are quicker solutions; but no matter what other standard current day sensors (like you’d find in modern smartphones, such as the iPhone 5S) you add to the mix, you (as a developer) never truly get a feel for where the object is placed relatively in a 3D world.
This is relevant because when using a head-up display you want to display data to the user such that it doesn’t unnecessarily move around, which you do by fixing it to a physical object; and to do that you need to know exactly where it is, even when the user is moving around a lot.
This is the holy grail in head-up technology, as it allows you to do A LOT more at the same time as you don’t give the user a bad case of motion sickness.
For example, you could remove/replace the content of billboards, do virtual cosplay where only your friends get to see what you’re (virtually) dressed like, tv ads could be tailored to what you think is relevant and objects about to hit you could be “painted” in flashing red (especially relevant when driving, or on a bicycle).
In short, you could live in a fantasy world that is painted on top of reality; much like shown in the demo of project Tango.
Only problem is that you can’t do that today, the current generation head-up displays, like Google Glass, doesn’t come close to providing the accuracy needed. Sure, the developer could always track more and more and more objects, and in a lab environment it is always possible to do this to a level where it’d work acceptably well; but in real life it just wouldn’t work, there’d be huge problems with lag and (the lack of) battery life.
Enter project Tango.
Project Tango provides the developer not with the tools to do the pattern recognition or over all tracking any simpler/quicker, instead it completely skips that by providing the developer with a complete 3D world ready to be “painted”.
Instead of having an impossible task of keeping track of everything everywhere, and then figuring out what to do with it, the complexity has been reduced to a script-like level; even markup-like simplicity is possible. Making replacing the contents of billboards as simple as assigning the alternativ content to any surface with a predetermined set of qualities.
Having project Tango as a smartphone is a first step, as we’re playing with the technology, but it is when we start using it as a (hidden) part of other, existing, technology that it will become a tool; and an amazing one at that.
If the idea of project Tango as part of a head-up display doesn’t excite you, then imagine your (selfdriving) car accurately being aware of the surroundings, your house alerting you when your child is in physical danger, or just living in a keyless world where your house/car alarm is able to identify you as easily as any family member would…
