Project Tango

For the first time since it debut as a skunkworks project last year, Google is officially bringing the Project Tango tablet to more countries worldwide. That, however, doesn't mean that it's exactly going to be for sale for consumers, only that researchers and tinkerers in other countries won't have to bend over backwards just to get their hands on one. This opens up what is practically a very polished development device to more hands and minds, which will hopefully push Google's "crowdsourced" computer vision research even further.

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The next Nexus smartphone has been tipped this week with a 3D camera akin to Google's Project Tango device line. Two Nexus smartphones have been tipped to be released this year, both with Android M under the hood. One, a relatively normal Nexus device with low cost and a vanilla edition of Android, made by Huawei. The other, an LG-made Nexus device with a 3D camera - not as cheap, but still running the next version of Android nonetheless. The LG-made smartphone won't necessarily be called "Nexus" - it might be released on completely different terms.

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While both units remain "developer units", Google has announced that Project Tango is prepared now as a tablet for the public and as a phone with Qualcomm inside. The Project Tango Developer Kit tablet will be available from the Google Store as early as this afternoon to all buyers. It'll have the same price as it did for developers most recently (reduced from the original, of course), for a cool $512 USD. This kit will use an NVIDIA K1 processor inside while another phone-sized device is currently in development. This phone-sized device will have Qualcomm's processor technology running the show.

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Google I/O starts in less than a day but Google is still doing some strange spring cleaning, so to speak. It has just opened up its "experimental" Project Tango tablet to everyone, allowing anyone to buy the powerful yet odd mobile device without the need for any invite. That is, of course, if you have the money to spare, as the device does still cost a hefty $512. Which isn't really bad, considering that it was originally priced at $1024 (geeks probably love those numbers) up until last month.

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Google I/O 2015 tipped to be another send-off point for Google Cardboard, the company's virtual reality pre-brand. The stars are aligned. It's time for Google to treat Cardboard - and the virtual reality community in general - like the sleeping tiger it really is. This week at Google I/O 2015, Google is likely to reveal far more than they did last year, when the VR headset Google Cardboard was given away with barely a word on what it was capable of doing. This platform is about to blow open.

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The public may very well be able to get their hands on a Project Tango tablet in the near future with an update coming down today. Those that've reserved this 3D-scanning tablet as a developer but have not chosen to purchase as of yet are receiving an email today which suggests that Google is "opening up sales more broadly" so those that've reserved a unit should go ahead and jump in now. They've also given the half-price special to these users, just as they did for developers attending Project Tango sessions at GTC 2015.

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While we've seen what Project Tango is capable of visually - we can scan and explore 3D space. What Left Field Labs have decided to do is attach sound to objects in 3D space in a game called Sound Field. This game was first previewed at GDC 2015, and we're getting our first look - and talk - about it here at GTC 2015 from one of its creators. This game requires both a Project Tango device and a pair of headphones (attached to said Tango) to work.

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At a demonstration of the newest in new Project Tango hardware and software by Google at GTC 2015 we've gotten the opportunity to take a peek at an off-brand Minecraft. "This is sort of our homage to Minecraft," said Google ATAP Technical Program Lead Johnny Chung Lee. He proceeded to create a brick house in a 3D space using the newest Project Tango tablet with NVIDIA Tegra K1 inside. The tablet's screen has a pointer, just like Minecraft, and a building exists in a virtual, yet real, space.

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Google may have just recently "graduated" Project Tango from its incubation at its ATAP arm, but the future of research-oriented tablet and phone still hangs in the balance. In the meantime, however, developers and researchers are still tinkering with the few devices that are already out in the wild. But what exactly can one do with Tango's 3D sensing capabilities? Well, apparently, you can use it to draw in full 3D space, like what this new Space Sketchr app tries to demonstrate.

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Google Glass isn't alone in getting shuffled around Google, with the 3D-tracking tablet Project Tango graduating today from the Advanced Technology and Projects division. Tango, which aims to do for indoor positioning and 3D mapping what GPS did for navigation, uses a combination of precise movement sensors, cameras, and depth-tracking to build up complex 3D environments in real-time, has until now been placed within Google ATAP, the company's ideas incubator. Now, with developer hardware in the wild, it's time for Tango to get serious.

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This week Google has begun opening the buy-gates for Project Tango, bringing in new availability for users around the world. While the device went up on Google Play early this November and began arriving for developers late this November, here in early December (already!) we're seeing the device being made available to those that've showed interest with Google - even if they aren't developers, that is to say.

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Google's Project Tango has begun shipping, with the 3D tracking tablet arriving on developers' desks this week as they get started on new ways to blend the real-world with its digital counterpart. Pre-orders of the NVIDIA-powered Android slate began midway through this month, at a not-inconsiderable $1,024, though the sales window wasn't kept open for long. Still, Isobar developer Mike DiGiovanni got in fast, and his Tango tablet has now arrived.

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