RealSense Technology By Intel

First of all, what is RealSense technology?

Looking through Intel's web page, I can see there are a number of different components to RealSense technology. The first component we will see is gestures. RealSense technology allows users to interact with their computer screen with hand movements, head movements, or facial expressions. The 3D camera built into the computer measures in three dimensions, allowing for more unique was of interacting with what is on your screen. This technology can also be used to recognize your face, which can unlock your user on the computer. 3D scanning and printing is all done with this new technology. Another component of this technology is depth perception. With similar 3D cameras, RealSense technology can measure and scale a picture's size. If you wanted to see the distance one object was from another, snap a picture, then allow the software to measure and present the distance on your screen. This is also used when focusing in pictures. The camera recognizes the layers in a photo and then allows the user to focus different areas of the photo. You can change the focus as many times as you want with one picture. Another way to use this technology is called Immersive Chat. This allows those in a video chat to wipe away the background in their camera, and replace the background with something else. This is like using a green screen, without the green screen!

What does this mean for technology?

I believe that some of these technologies are more practical than others. Sure, it would be cool to control a video game with your hands, but would it be useful for painting or sketching digitally? The only two uses I see for that function of the technology is gameplay and some type of drawing or painting app.

3D scanning and printing has increasingly become popular in the last several years, and I believe this is where Intel could really make an impact. If more people have the technology to scan objects (our even their face) the more likely they are to print something with a 3D printer.

Another way that I think this technology will change the way we take pictures is through the focus feature on a smartphone or camera. If you have ever taken pictures, you probably have seen the effect where part of the picture is in focus, while the other is out of focus. I really like this effect and it is sometimes hard to recreate with smartphones. With RealSense, this is a normal feature and can easily be done not only once, but change the focus many times on a single picture. This is a great idea and one I think with be integrated in to almost all smartphones in the near future.

Video chatting is a great way to connect with those who are far away or not able to meet with you face to face. Intel uses their technology to identify you in the video, separate you out of the shot and apply any type of background you need. There are other technologies that do this also (Photo Booth on a Mac). This is great when you want to meed with someone and present something unique and place it in the background. Also, if you were in a beautiful place on vacation, you could place your background with someone else and let them experience your surroundings without them actually being there.

What about Education?

I can see some uses for this in education. This would be a great way to engage students in collaborating outside of school to work on projects. Students could present their projects in the background in a video chat. Students could scan 3D objects and print them on a 3D printer without any extra software. I also thing students could be more creative with project building with these new tools at their fingertips.