Notebooks and tablets with Intel RealSense front and rear 3D cameras

At the annual Intel Developer conference, Intel said that notebooks with Intel RealSense 3D cameras will be sold by the end of this year, and that a tablet with 3D cameras will be available in 2015.

At CES early this year, Intel introduced the 3D sensing technology for the first time. Intel has developed two types of depth sensors. An alternative to a front camera that can perceive a person's movements, and a second post that scans objects 4 of meters away. Both of these sensors capture the color and 3D shape of the scene, helping the computer recognize gestures or look for objects.

The working mode of the front and rear sensors is very different. The front sensor is used to calculate the position of the object, which can be done by observing how the object distorts an invisible pattern of infrared light emitted by the miniature headlights inside the sensor. The rear sensor uses a two-camera stereo vision to measure the depth and then uses an infrared camera to help fine-tune the results.

This 3D sensor has many uses, such as precise stereo measurement, gesture recognition, augmented reality games, etc.

For example, Intel demonstrated with the 3D scanning start-up volumental in the General Assembly that the shoe size was measured accurately by taking a 3D photograph of the foot. The Conference also demonstrated the size of the sofa, measuring the sizes of fish caught by anglers. This is helpful for the various business scenarios such as online sales, engineering survey and so on.

Like the light field camera Lytro, Amazon smartphone Fire Phone and so on, the camera also supports the first camera after the focus function.

In addition to 3D measurements, 3D sensors can also be used to develop very precise augmented reality games that integrate virtual roles into real-world environments.

For example, Intel demonstrated that a flying robot appeared on the screen and then selected a messy table on top of a box as a landing site. Character and scene fusion is very good, even before there is something blocking the virtual role will disappear, embodies the virtual and the perfect fusion of reality. This is significant for game developers because the 3D camera restores the real scene eliminates the hassle of setting up the scene, and the virtual-reality interaction brings a whole new experience.

Another use of the front 3D camera can also be used for gesture recognition to help users play games or control windows by gesture recognition. This is similar to Microsoft's Kinect, although Microsoft also had a significant, deep-sensing upgrade in 2013, but its sheer size was apparently not built into laptops or tablets.

Intel is working with the software company to develop relevant technology applications, and currently has a partnership with Intel's Skype department, DreamWorks, Autodesk, etc. Intel will release free software for developers to develop applications based on this sensor in the next few weeks.

Intel's new sensor is roughly the same size as the existing notebook camera, and Dell's latest Android Tablet PC, released in Monday, is equipped with the 3D camera venue 8 7000. The tablet is 6 millimeters thick, thinner than any tablet on the market.