Tango (platform)
This article needs to be updated.(December 2017) |
Original author(s) | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | |
Initial release | June 5, 2014 |
Platform | Android |
Available in | English |
Type | Computer vision |
Website | developers |
Tango (named Project Tango while in testing) was an
The first product to emerge from ATAP,[1] Tango was developed by a team led by computer scientist Johnny Lee, a core contributor to Microsoft's Kinect. In an interview in June 2015, Lee said, "We're developing the hardware and software technologies to help everything and everyone understand precisely where they are, anywhere."[2]
Google produced two devices to demonstrate the Tango technology: the Peanut phone and the Yellowstone 7-inch tablet. More than 3,000 of these devices had been sold as of June 2015,
At CES, in January 2016, Google announced a partnership with Lenovo to release a consumer smartphone during the summer of 2016 to feature Tango technology marketed at consumers, noting a less than $500 price-point and a small form factor below 6.5 inches. At the same time, both companies also announced an application incubator to get applications developed to be on the device on launch.
On 15 December 2017, Google announced that they would be ending support for Tango on March 1, 2018, in favor of ARCore.[6]
Overview
Tango was different from other contemporary 3D-sensing computer vision products, in that it was designed to run on a standalone mobile phone or tablet and was chiefly concerned with determining the device's position and orientation within the environment.
The software worked by integrating three types of functionality:
- visual features of the environment, in combination with accelerometer and gyroscopedata, to closely track the device's movements in space
- Area learning: storing environment data in a map that can be re-used later, shared with other Tango devices, and enhanced with metadata such as notes, instructions, or points of interest
- Depth perception: detecting distances, sizes, and surfaces in the environment
Together, these generate data about the device in "
Project Tango was also the first project to graduate from Google X in 2012 [7]
Applications
Tango enabled apps to track a device's position and orientation within a detailed 3D environment, and to recognize known environments. This allowed the creations of applications such as in-store navigation, visual measurement and mapping utilities, presentation and design tools,
Tango apps are distributed through Play. Google has encouraged the development of more apps with hackathons, an app contest, and promotional discounts on the development tablet.[12]
Devices
As a platform for software developers and a model for device manufacturers, Google created two Tango devices.
The Peanut phone
"Peanut" was the first production Tango device, released in the first quarter of 2014. It was a small
Several hundred Peanut devices were distributed to early-access partners including university researchers in computer vision and robotics, as well as application developers and technology startups. Google stopped supporting the Peanut device in September 2015, as by then the Tango software stack had evolved beyond the versions of Android that run on the device.
The Yellowstone tablet
"Yellowstone" was a 7-inch tablet with full Tango functionality, released in June 2014, and sold as the Project Tango Tablet Development Kit.
Testing by NASA
In May 2014, two Peanut phones were delivered to the
Intel RealSense smartphone
Announced at Intel's Developer Forum in August 2015,[18] and offered to public through a Developer Kit since January 2016.[19] It incorporated a RealSense ZR300 camera[20] which had optical features required for Tango, such as the fisheye camera.[21]
Lenovo Phab 2 Pro
Lenovo Phab 2 Pro was the first commercial smartphone with the Tango Technology, the device was announced at the beginning of 2016, launched in August, and available for purchase in the US in November. The Phab 2 Pro had a 6.4 inch screen, a Snapdragon 652 processor, and 64 GB of internal storage, with a rear facing 16 Megapixels camera and 8 MP front camera.
Asus Zenfone AR
Asus Zenfone AR, announced at CES 2017,
See also
References
- ^ Announcement on ATAP Google+ site, 30 January 2015
- ^ "Future Phones Will Understand, See the World". 3 June 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
- ^ "Slamdance: inside the weird virtual reality of Google's Project Tango". 29 May 2015.
- ^ Qualcomm Powers Next Generation Project Tango Development Platform, 2015-05-29
- ^ IDF 2015: Intel teams with Google to bring RealSense to Project Tango, 2015-08-18
- ^ "Google's Project Tango is shutting down because ARCore is already here". The Verge. Retrieved 2017-12-16.
- ^ "10 Bold Google X Projects Aiming for Tech Breakthroughs".
- ^ https://developers.google.com/project-tango/ Google developer website.
- .
- ^ http://augmentedworldexpo.com/ Augmented World Expo 2015
- ^ AWE 2015, "Mobile 3D Tracking and Perception"
- ^ Google says these are the best apps for Project Tango, 2 November 2015
- ^ Product announcement on ATAP Google+ page, 5 June 2014, retrieved 4 November 2015
- ^ Specs on official site, retrieved 4 November 2015
- ^ "Tango Tablet Development Kit User Guide | Tango | Google Developers". Google Developers. Retrieved 2016-09-11.
- ^ "The launch of the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro was a major milestone for Tango, marking ..." Retrieved 2017-07-15.
- ^ Google's Project Tango headed to International Space Station, 20 March 2014
- ^ "Google and Intel bring RealSense to phones with Project Tango dev kit".
- ^ "Intel's RealSense phone with Project Tango up for pre-order".
- ^ "Intel's RealSense smartphone developer kit now available to pre-order for $399". 7 January 2016.
- ^ Intel Realsense ZR300 Product Datasheet
- ^ ASUS announcement at CES 2017 -YouTube
External links
- Official website
- Project Tango developer site (API and documentation).
- Project Tango developer community.
- Project Tango Smartphone Development Platform page at Qualcomm.
- "Intel Expands Developer Opportunities As Computing Expands Across All Areas of Peoples' Lives". Intel Developer Forum. 20 August 2015.
- "Google and Intel bring RealSense to phones with Project Tango dev kit". Engadget. 18 August 2015.
- "Google I/O 2015 - Project Tango - Mobile 3D tracking and perception". Johnny Lee, Google I/O 2015. YouTube. 29 May 2015.
- "Project Tango Concepts". Johnny Lee, YouTube. 21 April 2015.
- "Project Tango Tablet Teardown". iFixit. 15 August 2014.