Google's Project Tango Now Ready for Commercial Application

Project Tango, Google's 3D-scanning camera, has graduated from the experimental lab and is on its way to the real world. It has been moved out of Google's Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) division and into the company proper. In a Google+ post announcing the move, ATAP said: "After two fast-paced years in ATAP, and many technical successes, the Tango team is transitioning from ATAP to a new home within Google. We're excited about the continued commitment to developing the technology for our users - we wish our fellow pirates fair winds and following seas."

The move is an indication that the technology could be on its way into consumer devices. Google is said to be working with LG to make a version of the technology that people can buy ready for release some time this year. Software engineers can also make related apps using the Project Tango Development Kit much like Target's augmented reality app to scan shop shelves. As per the project's official page, the technology combines "advanced computer vision, image processing and specialized sensors."

Project Tango, Google's 3D-scanning camera, began as a concept for a smartphone which would scan the world around it in 3D. It could then make that into a model that could be used for augmented reality or direct people to important things. Google says the technology could eventually be used for mapping out the dimensions of a home before buying furniture, or giving easy directions around a new building, or help visually impaired people by providing assistance for walking around. It could also be eventually integrated into games, allowing players to interact with animated characters or changing familiar locations into the sites of other animations.

Project Tango, says Google, brings a new kind of spatial perception to the Android device platform by adding advanced computer vision, image processing and specialized sensors, tracking the full 3D motion of the device and capturing the shape of the environment in real-time. Its stated goal is to give mobile devices a human-scale understanding of space and motion.