One of the hottest topics
today is augmented reality,
but just what does it mean
to augment or mix realities,
and how does it work?
Hi, my name is
Nicolai, and I'm going
to talk about Project
Tango, augmented reality,
and the exciting new world
that's now at your fingertips.
Augmented reality has been
around in some form for years.
Pilots, for example,
utilize a head up
display to navigate in
low light or bad weather.
Representation of obstacles are
projected onto the wind screen
along with other vital data,
such as airspeed and altitude
to allow a pilot to
see when it's not
really possible to see.
So what does it take to make
AR work on a mobile device?
In many ways, AR works
just the way you work.
When you walk, your
eyes process images
while a pair of tiny
canals in your inner ear
called the vestibular
system provides
information about spatial
orientation and movement.
Your brain automatically
links the data,
and you maneuver
without even thinking.
In order to analyze
your movement,
a Project Tango device
processes images
of your immediate environment--
dozens of images every second.
As you move and
point the device,
the images change, and
the Project Tango software
interprets and presents your
movement in the AR world.
Add Project Tango's
high resolution clock
to sync all of these
elements, and you
have a tool capable of
capturing and presenting
a high fidelity virtual image
on top of a live camera image.
To understand how this
works in more detail,
watch the introduction
to motion tracking video.
Creating an AR experience
that's believable
is a delicate
exercise, and I want
to walk you through a
few of the key elements.
So let me show you
what I'm talking about.
As we walk along this hallway,
the Project Tango device
is taking pictures, and
you are essentially seeing
a live picture of your world.
Each of the little
dots that you see
represents a physical
feature that Project Tango
locks onto so it can
track your movement.
As these features shift
in relation to the device,
Project Tango's motion
tracking tracks your progress.
Now, let's augment reality.
In this case, we will
add a box to our room.
As we move around
it, Project Tango
tracks our movement in
relation to our physical world
and redraws the box to
keep it fixed in place.
To make this work,
you must make sure
that the camera image
and the device [? post ?]
are time synced.
If they are not, you will
see the virtual overlay
is out of sync with
the camera motion.
We say they
experience it slushy.
If, on the other hand,
the two are time synced,
the virtual object will
follow the physical world,
and we say we have
good registration.
Now, there are some
things to watch out for.
Imagine riding a roller coaster.
Your eyes and you vestibular
system flood your brain
with sensory data over time.
Your brain gets
overloaded, and you
lose track of time and space.
Same thing in the AR world.
If the Project Tango system
cannot process data efficiently
enough, then the system can no
longer draw the virtual world
in the right position, and
it will look like it's moving
randomly on top of
the physical world.
Not synchronizing
[? post ?] and camera image
is one of the most
common mistakes,
so we have created sample
code for various platforms.
Pretty neat, right?
You must also manage the
properties of the camera
and the motion tracking system.
The parameters of the virtual
camera and the physical camera
must match.
This includes the field of
view, any lens distortion,
and physical displacement
of the physical camera
in the inertial
measurement unit.
If you don't address this,
errors will accumulate,
and as you move the device
further and further away
from its starting
point, the virtual world
will appear to shift.
Yep, this is pretty tricky,
and you need a bit of math
to nail this.
We've got you covered with
ready to use samples here.
When you are thinking about how
to program in Project Tango,
think about working in two
worlds, the physical world
and the virtual world, where
the shared element is time.
That, in a sense, is
augmented reality.
Now, there are some
limitations which
you need to consider when
you are imagining an AR app.
Several factors affect the
accuracy of motion tracking.
Light, surfaces, and
how fast we are moving
can all create errors,
and here is why.
Again, remember, the
Project Tango device
works pretty much
the same way we work.
Low light can make it difficult
for the camera to accurately
detect the surroundings.
Without accurate images,
Project Tango cannot recognize
your physical environment.
Just as we cannot
see in the dark,
neither can a
project tango device.
Also, the environment
needs textures in order
to accurately gauge movement.
Imagine standing in the
middle of a snowstorm.
Everything around you is white.
Now try to gauge how fast you're
moving and in what direction.
Same thing with Project Tango.
Project Tango is a leap
forward for mobile devices
that enables them to run
room scale and markerless AR
experiences.
Just imagine the possibilities.
Augmented reality can take
your world and enhance it,
and with Project Tango,
you can do that right now.
For more information and code
samples on AR in Project Tango,
go to our developer site, and
visit our Google+ community,
and join us on our journey.
We are excited to see what you
will build with Project Tango.
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