Overview of VR / AR Google I / O 2017
Guest article from Google I \ O 2017 and GDE Android member, Alexey Korovyansky ( @alexkorovyansky ).
At the last conference, Google expressed its leadership view on the development of Virtual and Augmented Reality, the importance of new technologies for further progress and demonstrated a number of innovative solutions in this direction.
Google proposed the term Immersive Computing to concisely name the entire spectrum of VR / AR products and technologies. The adjective Immersive was not chosen by chance, because Google believes that, unlike its predecessors, Immersive computing works like we do.
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Let's take a closer look at what it is and talk about the most interesting VR / AR updates from Google.
Punch cards, console applications, GUI, Web and Mobile, VR / AR. Following the path of technology development, we will see that their appearance is rapidly approaching the natural forms for our world.
Technologies become easier to understand and interact, which greatly increases their effectiveness and expands the scope. Today Immersive Computing successfully finds its application in education, art, business, sports and other areas of our activity. For example, the quality of education becomes much higher, because the lessons can be more visual, comprehensible and productive.
At Google, we are convinced that Immersive Computing moves progress towards a more humane side and significantly expands the horizons of our capabilities.
In the direction of augmented reality, Google’s flagship product is Tango . With the help of additional hardware (depth sensor and wide-angle camera) and advanced algorithms, SLAM Tango gives Android smartphones the ability to confidently navigate in space and create augmented reality with six degrees of freedom.
The technology has already confirmed its performance and reliability in solving real problems. For example, using Tango, you can implement an innovative navigation system for the airport by drawing the shortest route to the right gate for each passenger right on the floor (in augmented reality mode).
Another interesting example is the experiment done by Google in conjunction with the Singapore Museum of Art and Science. Museum visitors had the opportunity to make a virtual trip through the rainforest and help save endangered species of plants and animals.
Also at the conference, they announced the Visual Positioning Service, which will help developers and users to build interactive routes inside shopping centers and other popular places.
Last year, the first consumer device with Tango support, the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro, was released. In 2017, we are waiting for the release of the second device - ASUS ZenPhone AR . And as promised by Johnny Lee (technical leader of the Tango project), in 2018 much more Tango-ready devices are waiting for us.
Six months ago, Google launched Daydream, its own platform for high-quality mobile VR. Currently, eight Android smartphones on the market have Daydream support. During the current year, flagship models from Samsung (Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus) and LG will be added to them. Thus, by the end of the year, tens of millions of consumer devices will be Daydream-ready.
Standalone Daydream VR helmets (operating without using a smartphone) were announced on Google I / O. Later this year, two devices will appear on the market, created by Google in partnership with HTC and Lenovo.
New devices will allow the user to move inside the virtual world. In most of today's VR helmets, this possibility is realized through the connection and special placement of external cameras, which creates certain difficulties and limitations. In new helmets based on Daydream, this was eliminated through the use of new WorldSense technology based on Tango algorithms. In order to plunge into the world of virtual reality, a user will only need to wear a helmet without any connections to a PC or smartphone, without additional wires and cameras.
The Daydream platform itself will receive a major upgrade to version 2.0 of Euphrates. The entire user interface of the system will be available in VR mode (for example, to view notifications you will no longer need to remove the helmet). Google also implemented the most popular user request, the Daydream screen can be broadcast on TV via Google Cast.
Chrome browser will work in VR, in one click launching WebVR-enabled sites in virtual reality mode. The YouTube service also received a great expansion of VR capabilities, now users will be able to arrange 360- share viewing videos, sharing their emotions in real time.
Google is actively working to ensure that the image quality Daydream did not lose desktop competitors. The conference featured a Seurat tool that allows you to optimize complex VR scenes for high-quality playback in Daydream and the Instant Preview tool to accelerate the speed of developing VR projects (in Instant Run style for Android).
Immersive Computing brings with it fundamentally new opportunities for user experience, making technologies more convenient, more creative and more efficient.
Over the past year, Tango and Daydream have come a long way, but like the entire VR / AR industry, they are still at an early stage of their development. Therefore, in the near future, we will continue to see major updates and significant improvements in both platforms. We will also observe the gradual filling of the market with devices that support new technologies, and the increasing demand for immersive solutions.
Something similar happened with Android in 2008. Therefore, 2017 is a great time to start truly investing in immersive technology!
Official documentation:
Useful reports with Google I / O 2017:
At the last conference, Google expressed its leadership view on the development of Virtual and Augmented Reality, the importance of new technologies for further progress and demonstrated a number of innovative solutions in this direction.
Google proposed the term Immersive Computing to concisely name the entire spectrum of VR / AR products and technologies. The adjective Immersive was not chosen by chance, because Google believes that, unlike its predecessors, Immersive computing works like we do.
')
Let's take a closer look at what it is and talk about the most interesting VR / AR updates from Google.
Immersive Computing Path
Punch cards, console applications, GUI, Web and Mobile, VR / AR. Following the path of technology development, we will see that their appearance is rapidly approaching the natural forms for our world.
Technologies become easier to understand and interact, which greatly increases their effectiveness and expands the scope. Today Immersive Computing successfully finds its application in education, art, business, sports and other areas of our activity. For example, the quality of education becomes much higher, because the lessons can be more visual, comprehensible and productive.
At Google, we are convinced that Immersive Computing moves progress towards a more humane side and significantly expands the horizons of our capabilities.
Augmented Reality
In the direction of augmented reality, Google’s flagship product is Tango . With the help of additional hardware (depth sensor and wide-angle camera) and advanced algorithms, SLAM Tango gives Android smartphones the ability to confidently navigate in space and create augmented reality with six degrees of freedom.
The technology has already confirmed its performance and reliability in solving real problems. For example, using Tango, you can implement an innovative navigation system for the airport by drawing the shortest route to the right gate for each passenger right on the floor (in augmented reality mode).
Another interesting example is the experiment done by Google in conjunction with the Singapore Museum of Art and Science. Museum visitors had the opportunity to make a virtual trip through the rainforest and help save endangered species of plants and animals.
Also at the conference, they announced the Visual Positioning Service, which will help developers and users to build interactive routes inside shopping centers and other popular places.
Last year, the first consumer device with Tango support, the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro, was released. In 2017, we are waiting for the release of the second device - ASUS ZenPhone AR . And as promised by Johnny Lee (technical leader of the Tango project), in 2018 much more Tango-ready devices are waiting for us.
Virtual Reality / Daydream
Six months ago, Google launched Daydream, its own platform for high-quality mobile VR. Currently, eight Android smartphones on the market have Daydream support. During the current year, flagship models from Samsung (Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus) and LG will be added to them. Thus, by the end of the year, tens of millions of consumer devices will be Daydream-ready.
Standalone Daydream VR helmets (operating without using a smartphone) were announced on Google I / O. Later this year, two devices will appear on the market, created by Google in partnership with HTC and Lenovo.
New devices will allow the user to move inside the virtual world. In most of today's VR helmets, this possibility is realized through the connection and special placement of external cameras, which creates certain difficulties and limitations. In new helmets based on Daydream, this was eliminated through the use of new WorldSense technology based on Tango algorithms. In order to plunge into the world of virtual reality, a user will only need to wear a helmet without any connections to a PC or smartphone, without additional wires and cameras.
The Daydream platform itself will receive a major upgrade to version 2.0 of Euphrates. The entire user interface of the system will be available in VR mode (for example, to view notifications you will no longer need to remove the helmet). Google also implemented the most popular user request, the Daydream screen can be broadcast on TV via Google Cast.
Chrome browser will work in VR, in one click launching WebVR-enabled sites in virtual reality mode. The YouTube service also received a great expansion of VR capabilities, now users will be able to arrange 360- share viewing videos, sharing their emotions in real time.
Google is actively working to ensure that the image quality Daydream did not lose desktop competitors. The conference featured a Seurat tool that allows you to optimize complex VR scenes for high-quality playback in Daydream and the Instant Preview tool to accelerate the speed of developing VR projects (in Instant Run style for Android).
Summing up
Immersive Computing brings with it fundamentally new opportunities for user experience, making technologies more convenient, more creative and more efficient.
Over the past year, Tango and Daydream have come a long way, but like the entire VR / AR industry, they are still at an early stage of their development. Therefore, in the near future, we will continue to see major updates and significant improvements in both platforms. We will also observe the gradual filling of the market with devices that support new technologies, and the increasing demand for immersive solutions.
Something similar happened with Android in 2008. Therefore, 2017 is a great time to start truly investing in immersive technology!
Official documentation:
- Tango - developers.google.com/tango
- Daydream - developers.google.com/vr/daydream/overview
Useful reports with Google I / O 2017:
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/330310/
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