ET: Project Tango
Tango is an augmented reality software platform developed by Google that uses a mix of computer vision and machine learning to recognize and interact with its environment. What makes Tango different from other augmented reality software is that it does not use any external sources or feeds to operate. Tango is already available on a select number of phones, and presents potential for use in storytelling in the form of really convincing augmented reality experiences.
Tango operates without the need for GPS and focuses mainly on determining the device’s position relative to its environment. This means that it is not concerned with where it is in the entire world, like most GPS-based augmented reality experiences , but with where it fits in in its immediate scene. The advantage of this is that Tango can be extremely precise, to the point where there’s even a measuring app built on the platform. Tango also has depth perception, a feature lacking in a lot of augmented reality experiences where the new info or model is simply overlaid on a video feed. Tango’s use of area learning and motion tracking allows it to have augmented reality experiences that really fit into an area, rather than just sit on top of it.
Tango’s potential lies in the fact that it makes augmented reality actually feasible for storytelling. While overlays are fine for text or simple graphics, the precision Tango provides could make augmented reality just as immersive as virtual reality. A user could interact with a story in his or her own home, which adds a personal touch to the story if done correctly. More exciting is the possibility for multiple people viewing the same augmented experience, as the Tango promotional video shows. As Tango experiences an environment, it stores data about it which can be used by other apps, once the device recognizes the area. Moving Tango to headsets means that rather than having a closed-off experience, as is the norm with virtual reality currently, multiple users could download data about an environment onto their devices and interact with the augmented experience together. While immersive experiences are great, having someone to simultaneously share in that experience would make it that much stronger. Add Tango’s precision to that, and you have an immersive experience that not only interacts with the environment around it, but with the other people in it.
The main ethical concern would be that Tango store a lot of data about these environments to an API. Other apps can access this, so there is the potential that some personal spaces could end up on other people's phones in some form. This would be a comprehensive, depth-sensitive model of an area, so it would include many details about someone's room, home or workplace. Limiting the access as best they can should be Google's main concern when talking about the ethics of using something like Tango. While GPS is less precise, it also does not know what your bed looks like. Individual developers and users should consider if the trade off between sharing this kind of data and precision is worth it.
Tango is exciting because it is precise, shareable and does not require additional hardware besides what’s on a phone. Tango simply needs a gyroscope and accelerometer to function correctly, in addition to the software itself. This makes immersive augmented reality experiences very accessible, and Tango’s software allows these experiences to be truly convincing. Tango’s area-learning makes these experiences simultaneously available to multiple users, allowing the software to interact with both the environment and its users. Tango presents an accessible, immersive augmented reality experience that could rival virtual reality in coming years.
Tango’s Site: http://get.google.com/tango/
Developer Site: https://developers.google.com/project-tango/