The world of 3D mapping and printing is an exciting one, and our 3D printing company in Seattle watches every new development with interest. It is for this reason that a new project from Google, dubbed Project Tango, is of such significance.
Project Tango represents a new advancement in smart phones. Special hardware in this phone promises to allow users to map out a three dimensional model of your environment. Simply by engaging the phone and walking around a room, Project Tango would analyze your surroundings and build a digital image of it. By making over a quarter million measurements every second, it can even maintain an updated picture of your surroundings in real time.
The potential applications of this phone are many. Consider being able to capture a floorplan of your home quickly and easily before going shopping for furniture. Imagine getting specific directions not only to the street address you’re looking for, but also the room that you need to reach. A sophisticated use of this technology could be a great boon for the visually impaired, helping them to operate independently in an unfamiliar location. It could even be used for innovative gaming programs, analyzing your environment and building a game world based on what it sees.
As far as 3D printing goes, this technology could make 3D mapping more available to the average consumer. Through the use of a similar product, the layperson may one day be able to easily make digital models of household items and print out a replica as easily as scanning and printing a document.
Project Tango is not commercially available yet, currently in the prototype stage. The full innovations that may spring from Tango have yet to be seen, and we all look forward to them with keen interest.
