SK Telecom announced today that it introduced ‘T-AR for Project Tango,’ an innovative AR (Augmented Reality) solution for Google’s Project Tango* at Google I/O 2015.
* Project Tango combines 3D motion tracking with depth sensing to give a mobile device the ability to know where it is and how it moves through space. Project Tango brings a new kind of spatial perception to the Android device platform by adding advanced computer vision, image processing, and special vision sensors.
SK Telecom and Project Tango successfully developed T-AR for Project Tango by combining SK Telecom’s T-AR platform and Project Tango’s motion tracking, depth perception and area learning capabilities. T-AR for Project Tango provides a one-stop service for users to easily develop and execute an AR service by accurately learning 3D space.
At Google I/O 2015, the two companies demonstrated authoring and augmentation features of T-AR for Project Tango. Using the solution’s authoring tool, visitors were given a chance to create an AR service of their own by scanning the exhibition space with the Project Tango device and then placing 3D virtual objects anywhere within the scene. After making an AR service, they were able to experience it by pointing their Project Tango device towards the scene.
Also, during the ‘Project Tango - Mobile 3D Tracking and Perception’ sandbox talks, Larry Yang, the lead product manager for Project Tango, and Johnny Lee, the lead of Project Tango, both mentioned the importance of T-AR for Project Tango.
SK Telecom’s T-AR platform consists of an AR Browser - equipped with an image recognition/tracking and content rendering engine – that allows users to create, test and execute an AR service; and a server that manages AR contents/services. Based on the international AR standard ARML 2.0 by OGC (Open Geospatial Consortium), T-AR platform offers both openness and interoperability to maximize ease-of-use for developers. The platform supports both location-based and vision-based AR features. In addition, it not only supports AR services for smartphones but also immersive AR and VR (Virtual Reality) services for HMDs (Head-Mounted Displays).
Meanwhile, SK Telecom began providing key features of T-AR browser - including location tracking, image recognition/tracking, contents rendering and ARML analysis - in the form of SDK (Software Development Kit) since October 2014 to enable developers to easily create AR services to be utilized in diverse areas like advertisement, education and publishing.
Now, added with an upgraded capability to learn 3D space, T-AR will lay the foundation for many new AR and VR services to enhance customers’ experience at museums, shopping malls, factories, and so on. Furthermore, upon realization of the 5G network, which is characterized by massive connectivity, ultra-low latency and ultra-high speed, the company expects to provide even more advanced AR and VR services to customers.
“SK Telecom is pleased to introduce T-AR for Project Tango, an innovative solution that takes AR services to the next level,” said Alex Jinsung Choi, CTO of SK Telecom. “We will continue to develop our AR platform to offer customers with unprecedented, revolutionary AR and VR services that transform people’s lives in the 5G era.”