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Project Tango

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Re: Project Tango

#151

Post by magicalist »

ForHackernews wrote: post #146
magicalist wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It has "Java, C/C++, as well as the Unity Game Engine" API end points, and if it's fast enough to be input to a game, it isn't touching the cloud. I think you're misreading this. There may someday be a Google product that reads in a full 3d scan of your surroundings, but it's not this product. It's a sensor and some APIs. Until a device is actually released that requires you to upload all data, it seems premature to…

Maybe it isn't communicating with Google servers in real-time, but I'd be shocked if Google wasn't uploading all the data gathered after the fact. > Until a device is actually released that requires you to upload all data No, no, it won't be required ... it will just be on by default, and the opt-out will be buried in a submenu hidden under the "Advanced Developer Options" section.

Or it won't do it at all?

The closest analog would be the Android camera, and it asks if you want to turn on autoupload or whatever. And it doesn't upload at all if the camera is being used by an app, even if you have that turned on, which would be the same case if people build apps to use this device.

Re: Project Tango

#152

Post by ultimatedelman »

I think a game that maps your home or yard or street or whatever, recognizes common objects like trees, benches, cars, houses, people, etc, skins them with some sort of other-worldly skin, and allows you to walk around in the world finding virtual treasures and going on dynamic, virtual quests and fighting monsters by actually walking around would be the first literally fully-immersive game. incorporate events queued by actual sound coming in through the mic and you have the coolest game ever made, to date.

think ingress, but overlaid in real time on what your camera sees and phone hears, instead of just on google maps.

Re: Project Tango

#153

Post by ForHackernews »

magicalist wrote: post #151
ForHackernews wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe it isn't communicating with Google servers in real-time, but I'd be shocked if Google wasn't uploading all the data gathered after the fact. > Until a device is actually released that requires you to upload all data No, no, it won't be required ... it will just be on by default, and the opt-out will be buried in a submenu hidden under the "Advanced Developer Options" section.

Or it won't do it at all? The closest analog would be the Android camera, and it asks if you want to turn on autoupload or whatever. And it doesn't upload at all if the camera is being used by an app, even if you have that turned on, which would be the same case if people build apps to use this device.

> The closest analog would be the Android camera

I disagree. The closest analog is the Google location services, which continuously uploads data about your position and local wifi networks to Google, and is not very transparent about what it's doing: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2384751,00.asp

Re: Project Tango

#154

Post by deletes »

I understand the idea that you can get the exact positions of the surrounding, if you have an accurate position of the device. But how are they achieving that? I don't know of any such small tech capable of being accurate to 1cm, without external help.

I don't see how can they do this without an accurate position of the device.

An example when it breaks down without the position information:

Pointing the device perpendicular at an uniformly colored wall and moving parallel to the wall. Then the visual information is undefined and you have to rely on very accurate position sensors( which don't exist ) to correctly scan the environment.

Re: Project Tango

#155

Post by MattGrommes »

cakeface wrote: post #128
jlas wrote: post #18

"Unfortunately, due to FCC restrictions, we can only send development units to incorporated entities or institutions at this time." That's a bummer. Also, the page's default background-color should be set to black (or something dark). Most of the text is white(ish) and with a slow connection the background images take a while to load, making it impossible to read while you wait. /rant

This is a little creepy actually when you think about it. Here is this amazing new technology and the government says that only corporations are allowed to possess it. I'm sure that there are reasons but on the face of it I feel like it is right out of a cyberpunk book.

It's probably because sending to a company can fit under testing purposes but going to a person needs to be more rigorously controlled for interference and the like. Still, an unfortunate and old fashioned restriction in today's culture.

Re: Project Tango

#156

Post by higherpurpose »

magicalist wrote: post #23

"- Johnny Lee and the ATAP-Project Tango Team" Johnny Lee was the guy with the awesome Wii Controller demos back in 2007 (can't believe it's been that long). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd3-eiid-Uw edit: here's the full set of demos: http://johnnylee.net/projects/wii/ (also, I'm assuming it's the same guy, but his site says he's at Google now)

I think he was tech lead for Kinect at Microsoft for a while, before Google snatched him.

Re: Project Tango

#157

Post by higherpurpose »

groby_b wrote: post #109
evanlivingston wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand the application beyond gaming. The other applications discussed are basically shopping. Essentially this would make it much easier to represent the physical world digitally. But what use cases does a consumer or the average phone user have for digital representations of the physical space around them, particularly given that the user is already aware of the the physical space around them? How can t…

* Mapping the physical world Ever wanted a floor plan for your home? Just wave your phone around. * Visual annotation Add direction overlays, see the plan for a play your team is executing on the helmet HUD, highlight "dangerous"(weaving, too fast, whatnot) drivers on the car HUD. * Integrate sensor data to extend human perception Add an IR overlay. Sample sound across the room, do a volumetric display of noise level…

Since they want to "map the physical world", Google should buy the Euclideon guys already (Unlimited Detail Engine, Geoverse, etc):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Irf-HJ4fBls

And then release it for VR applications/games (one can hope).

Re: Project Tango

#158

Post by magicalist »

ForHackernews wrote: post #153
magicalist wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or it won't do it at all? The closest analog would be the Android camera, and it asks if you want to turn on autoupload or whatever. And it doesn't upload at all if the camera is being used by an app, even if you have that turned on, which would be the same case if people build apps to use this device.

> The closest analog would be the Android camera I disagree. The closest analog is the Google location services, which continuously uploads data about your position and local wifi networks to Google, and is not very transparent about what it's doing: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2384751,00.asp

It's literally an extra camera and a "depth sensor" (which is likely itself just another type of camera). So no, the analog would be the camera you're already carrying around with you.

It's far more likely (if this catches on) that this will just be another sensor in your phone that apps can use, and if Google wants to improve maps or whatever, they'll just ask people to "contribute" scans, like they've gotten people to basically make street view for them[1].

[1] http://www.google.com/maps/about/contribute/photosphere/

Re: Project Tango

#159

Post by turingbook »

martythemaniak wrote: post #27

This is essentially putting a Kinect in your phone and hooking it up with hopefully high-level APIs. It may take 2-3 years to make it into regular phones, but when it does it will be huge. Apple's acquisition of PrimeSense (the makers of the 1st gen Kinect) means they're also working on this. To give you a real-world example: when I started BarSsense ( http://www.barsense.com ) the core problem was tracking the path…

Good app. But you misspelled the name: BarSense.

Re: Project Tango

#160

Post by awkwit »

SiVal wrote: post #53

"Imagine measuring your room by just walking around in it." Yes, and imagine transmitting each of those footsteps in real time back to Google, so they can have a map of your room, too, in case they, or other parties, ever need it. I was just having a discussion yesterday with a friend who works at Google about what data they store when you query their search engine. Every single keystroke, including backspaces, is st…

on one hand this sort of thing concerns me, but on the other hand that's just amazing. just comes down to trust I guess
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