Google Launches Project Tango Smartphone To Experiment With Computer Vision And 3D Sensors

Google today announced Project Tango, an Android-based prototype 5″ phone and developer kit with advanced 3D sensors out of its Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) hardware skunkworks group.

The idea behind Project Tango is to see what kind of applications developers will dream up for this technology. Google hopes that it can unlock new kinds of smart, vision-based applications based on the 3D sensing and vision technology that it has built into the phone. By giving applications an almost human-like understanding of space, developers will be able to create applications that simply weren’t possible before.

The phones are outfitted with a compass and gyros, just like any other phone, but in addition, they feature Kinect-like visual sensors that can scan the room around the phone.