Google’s 3D sensing tablets coming to consumers next year

Thanks to a manufacturing partnership with LG, soon you’ll be able to measure your home, map your physical surroundings or play incredibly immersive games with nothing more than a tablet.

Google has been working for some time with universities, research labs, developers and other tech companies to develop the capabilities to map and sense the world in three dimensions via a smartphone or tablet. Dubbed Project Tango, it was officially announced in February, and the idea is that it will give devices a sense of their place in the world akin to our own and therefore open up a wealth of possibilities for new smartphone and tablet uses and features.

For example, using Google Maps on a normal smartphone will get you to the front door of an office building. But what if you needed to get to a room on a specific floor? With an understanding of the 3D environment, a Project Tango device could make sure you found the right door. Or it could just as easily remember on which level of the multi-storey car park the car is waiting.

But, just like Google Glass, its smart headset, Project Tango was thought to be at a very early stage of development. There are prototype devices available for developers who want to build apps for them, but they cost over $1000 each and in terms of design, won’t be giving Apple’s Jony Ive any sleepless nights.

So it came as a little bit of surprise when Google announced that it was working with LG and planned to offer the technology in consumer tablets early in 2015.

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And although it didn’t mention specifications or pricing, Google did also confirm that it is working with the Unity and the Unreal game engine and chip-maker Qualcomm as part of the consumer development.

As well being able to give directions in three dimensions or automatically measure every aspect of every room in a house automatically — something that could cause shockwaves in the interior design community — Project Tango opens up a host of possibilities in gaming, and contextual awareness, not to mention in helping people with disabilities such as impaired vision to gain greater independence.