PrimeSense demonstrates Capri 3D sensor on Nexus 10 (hands-on)
Take the 3D sensor inside the Microsoft Kinect, shrink it down to a tenth of its original size and add a bunch of mobile capabilities, and you have yourself PrimeSense's latest conquest, better known as Capri. The company, which is the brains behind the Kinect, has been openly working on bringing a tiny-yet-advanced 3D experience to tablets, televisions and smartphones for quite some time now. And it's proud enough of its progress so far that it's willing to give some real-life demonstrations to developers attending Google I/O. You may not see Capri embedded on the PCB of your portable gadget anytime soon -- at least, not until PrimeSense winds up wooing the pants off a lucky OEM or two -- so in the meantime, the company has connected the sensor board to the Nexus 10 via micro-USB.
Unlike the Kinect, however, PrimeSense doesn't think gestures will play a significant role in how we use Capri to interact with our gadgets. Rather, it seems to be more focused on 3D-based use case scenarios, many of which haven't even been thought up yet. As you'll see in the video below, we were shown an AR game that takes the environment around you -- walls, furniture and other elements -- and uses them as restrictions, just as much as they would be in real life. In another app, Capri snapped a three-dimension shot of an object on the table in front of us, captured its measurements and let us export that image to another device or even a 3D printer. In many respects, PrimeSense appears to be taking the same strategy Google does with Glass: get developers excited about the tech in the hopes they'll come up with clever uses for it. And while the company isn't ready to put Capri in their hands yet, the SDK is up for grabs, and I/O is no doubt an ideal place to build excitement for it. If you're looking for more info, we have a gallery, video and press release below, and you'll find the SDK at the More Coverage link.
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PrimeSense Demonstrates 3D Sensing Innovation with Capri™ Sensor and Nexus 10 from Google
PrimeSense hosted OpenNI partners at official Google I/O After Hours party
TEL AVIV and SAN FRANCISCO (May 16, 2013) – PrimeSense™, the leader in Natural Interaction and 3D sensing, showcased the latest developments in mobile applications that take advantage of PrimeSense 3D depth sensing technology using Nexus 10 devices and Android's operating system at the official Google I/O developer conference After Hours party, that took place May 15 at the Moscone West Convention Center in San Francisco.
PrimeSense hosted partners from OpenNI, the largest 3D sensing development community, to demonstrate 3D sensing mobile applications throughout the evening.
The demonstrations showcased innovative developments in mobile 3D sensing featuring the Capri sensor, the world's smallest 3D sensor, tiny enough to be embedded in many consumer electronic devices. PrimeSense and its partners will demonstrate applications on the Nexus 10 from Google such as: augmented reality games by PlayMe, 3D scanning, "beaming" of objects by Occipital and an interior design application that allows the user to use augmented reality for interior design and decoration, by NCONNEX.
"We see Capri adding depth sensing and Natural Interaction to mobile devices and tablets, revolutionizing the user experience and usability in ways that no one could imagine until now. We were thrilled to introduce the guests to these applications at the Google I/O After Hours party," said Tal Dagan, VP Marketing, PrimeSense. "Capri and Nexus 10 are the perfect companions to open up a world of 3D sensing of mobile applications."
Google I/O is an annual developer conference featuring highly technical, in-depth sessions, and showcasing the latest from Google's product teams and partners. Google I/O returned to San Francisco's Moscone West Convention Center on May 15-17, 2013. On May 15, the annual Google I/O After Hours Party featured hands-on interactive experiences, sophisticated recreation and live musical performances like no other. Google has teamed up with the best global visionaries, artists, and inventors to showcase their dynamic experiments, heightened realities, and magical experiences.