Earlier in the week, Lenovo announced alongside Google that it plans to release a consumer handset that incorporates Google’s Project Tango.
Project Tango, which was first unveiled almost two years ago, maps 3D spaces in real time through a combination of sensors and cameras that allow app developers to transform otherwise ordinary places into virtual and augmented environments. In essence, the technology offers developers the ability to transform spaces such as homes and offices into virtual environments.
For those who lack imagination, Magic Leap, a relatively secretive startup based on Florida, unveiled a trailer of a new virtual reality video game in the works that illustrates what technology such as Tango is truly capable of when it comes to augmented gaming.
The device Lenovo plans to release, which is scheduled to debut this summer, is a smartphone with builtin Tango. According to Tango team member Johnny Lee at Google, the Tango technology “creates a magical window” capable of transforming rooms into virtual gaming environments in which players can “hide behind the furniture,” Venture Beat reported.
We can use the room around us to play games, and hide behind the furniture […] Project Tango creates a magical window.
Lenovo vice president Jeff Meredith was quoted by Venture Beat as having said that the Chinese multinational manufacturer “locked arms with Google to bring out a consumer device based on Tango.”
At the core of the new smartphone is a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor.
While the final design has not yet been decided upon, the price point is set for sub $500 and the launch date is scheduled for the summer of 2016.
App developers are invited to submit their best ideas for new apps as part of what is being called the Project Tango App Incubator. The best ideas will not only receive funding, but will be included with the device upon its release.
