Lenovo and Google to team up for 3D mapping smartphone

Google has been working on its ‘Project Tango' smartphone for quite some time now. The device is designed to create 3D maps of its surroundings but it had just been a prototype until now, as Google is teaming up with Lenovo to implement Project Tango's features into a new smartphone to release this year.

Google has been working on this camera technology for three years now, which allows a device to detect depth and map out space in 3D directly on the smartphone.

The technology is capable of showing the distances between spaces but it does require an RGB camera, an infrared camera and a fisheye camera to work so there is a lot to cram into a smartphone. The Lenovo-built Tango device will make use of a Qualcomm Snapdragon chip, likely the 820 and the device will be built to hit a price point under $500.

Right now, we have only seen a few demos of the technology but with a consumer oriented device set to hit the market this year, we may see more developers begin to experiment with Tango and its 3D mapping functionality.

KitGuru Says: This is quite an ambitious undertaking and will certainly make this smartphone stand out from the normal devices we are used to seeing. However, I do wonder if this technology will appeal to the mass market rather than a niche group. 

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