5 cool things you can do with a Project Tango smartphone

Lenovo has recently revealed at the Lenovo Tech World 2016 the Phab2 Pro – the first Project Tango-powered smartphone for consumers. So if you’re curious about what this piece of tech can do then read on.

For the unacquainted, Project Tango is a Google platform introduced in 2014 that develops 3D mapping and depth-sensing technology for mobile devices. Developers can take advantage of the said tech by creating apps and features to enhance the experiences of its users such as transforming your home into a game level, and more immersive virtual and augmented environments.

1. You can interact/play with virtual objects.

Since Project Tango uses Augmented Reality, users will be able to see more than what is physically available. Imagine entering an ordinary room but with the help of Project Tango smartphone, you can add virtual objects and interact with them. One example is the Garden – Mixed Reality by Gotan and Home AR Designer by Elementals Studio, which allows virtual objects and the real environment to interact with each other.

2. Measure your surroundings with 3D tools.

This is pretty much straight-forward. Since Project Tango uses 3D mapping without the help of GPS, developers can create apps that enable a user to make precise measurements of a room as well as allow for indoor wayfinding. One app that does that is the Project Tango MeasureIt. Developers will surely develop more tools that take advantage of the technology.

3. Receive useful information about your current surroundings.

Stores, museums, and other establishments can produce apps that let users see more information about their products and services at a specific location. With Project Tango, users can watch inanimate objects become alive, or a plain room turn into a trove of information while at the same time also guiding you into other indoor locations.

4. Play games in a more interactive manner.

Games won’t be left out, of course. And given that Project Tango is designed to provide new experiences to users by blending physical and virtual, games designed on the platform will be more immersive and fun. Some games designed for Project Tango includes Ghostly Mansion by Rabbx Inc., Adventures of Poco Eco: Tango by Possible Games, and InnAR Wars by Flarb.

5. Enhance your learning and creativity.

Project Tango can also be used by people hungry for knowledge and want to consume them in a different way. One example is the Solar Simulator at Scale by Omar Shaikh. Professionals can also use it in their own field to simulate experiences while ordinary users can have fun by building virtual objects and visualize them like they’re in the real world. Some examples are Car Visualizer by NVYVE Inc. and Bike Config AR Store by Elementals Studio.

With all of these said, the possibilities for a Project Tango smartphone is almost limitless. On the downside, we only have the Lenovo Phab2 Pro to choose from, but you can expect more to be produced once more users and developers adopt and support the technology.

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Microsoft HoloLens full specs revealed

During the launch of Microsoft‘s HoloLens, many were impressed with what it could do being a full-field augmented reality device. Software-wise, we already know that it is powered by Windows Holographic software but we know very little of the hardware inside it.

hololens

What the folks from Windows Central did was to run AIDA64 Mobile to reveal what makes up the HoloLens.

Microsoft HoloLens specs:
1.04Ghz Intel Atom x5-Z8100 64-bit CPU
Intel Airmont (14nm)
HoloLens Graphics
2GB RAM
64GB storage
2.4MP camera (photos)
1.1MP camera (videos) at 30fps
16,500mWh battery

hololens2

For the unfamiliar, the HoloLens is touted as the first fully untethered holographic computer and is equipped with see-thru, high-definition lenses, spatial sound, and advanced sensors. With it, users can create their own 3D images in minutes using the device’s built-in Holo Studio software.

It is expected to arrive in stores “somewhere along the Windows 10 timeline.”

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Life, augmented

Google Glass will be available to regular people starting this year for less than $1,500 or P61,000, various technology news websites reported the past few days.

Google Glass is an eyeglass computer that can take photos or videos or display information like weather data or your calendar items on a head-mounted display or take photos and videos. The device is controlled by voice – triggered by the phrase, “ok glass.”

When you say, “take a photo,” it takes a photo of whatever it is that you’re looking at. When you say “take a video,” it does that too. You can even livestream whatever you are seeing through the device and share it with friends.

You can also ask Glass to translate words and phrases for you. Its promotional video had one scene of a person eating on a boat in Thailand and then complementing a local in Thai that the food was delicious after asking Glass to translate it for him.

Google Glass is a research project by Google X Lab, a facility run by Google co-founder Sergey Brin. The lab also produced the Google driverless car.

What’s really exciting about Google Glass isn’t just that it can be used to record your life, what’s more exciting is its ability to augment it.

Data layer on real life

Think about the possibilities: what if upon leaving your house, the system could show you the things that you needed to do for the day and the hour’s top stories while also plotting your best route to the office, taking into account traffic conditions?

What if it shows you the Facebook or Twitter statuses or profiles of the people that you are looking at? Single, married, it’s complicated – what if Google Glass can put a social layer on real life?

What if while buying, the system could also assist you by providing price comparisons or even recipe suggestions?

What if it could alert you to take your medicine or scan what you eat to remind you of your diet?

What if the system could alert you of news stories based on what you see or where you are?

The scenarios above are close to being possible. It’s already being done on mobile, it’s just a matter of porting it to Glass.

NEW WAY TO DELIVER NEWS. Wearable computing like Google Glass will allow us to have a data layer on real life. One of these layers can be news updates.

NEW WAY TO DELIVER NEWS. Wearable computing like Google Glass will allow us to have a data layer on real life. One of these layers can be news. It can detect that you’re in Lapu-Lapu City, looking at a massive traffic gridlock caused by a vehicular accident a few kilometers away in Mandaue City. The system, upon detecting that you’re near the 1st Mactan-Mandaue bridge, also warns you that the bridge will be closed for repairs soon.

Disruptive transition

I think Google Glass is a really exciting peek into the future of computing. We are in the midst of a disruptive transition to mobile but the move to wearable, as epitomized by the Google Glass, would even be more disruptive.
For content providers like the news media, wearable computing will present a new challenge and offer fresh opportunities to deliver information.

The Google Glass can be a device to navigate the so-called “Internet of things.”

I’ve long been experimenting with ways to put a layer of data on real life. My wife and I are using quick response (QR) codes to deliver tourism and heritage information in some spots here in Cebu and, soon, in Iloilo and Bohol.

Connecting digital to physical

Right now, QR codes are the best way to connect digital content to a physical trigger. The system does not consume bandwidth in finding the location of a digital resource because what it does is just decode a string of characters from the QR code, which is a type of barcode, and use it as input. It could either lead you to a website or trigger the download of bits of data. The next phase to this type of connectivity can be NFC or near field communication.

If you were to do that purely via augmented reality systems (AR) like Google Glass, you would need constant connection to a server to compare what you see with a database of images or GPS locations in order to find a matching content. GPS locations might be easier to implement via a system called “geo-fencing.” That’s what we are looking at next.

But with Google Glass and the next generation of connectivity like LTE, augmented reality will, I think, finally live up to its name and become reality.

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