Google's Tango has announced that it is partnering with museums around the world and using AR technology to bring people an enhanced experience.
What is this enhanced experience? According to Tech Times, some examples of how Tango can enrich museum interactions include: letting visitors peer behind an Egyptian mummy's bandages for a virtual view of the preserved skeleton, allowing visitors to view the actual scale of Babylon's Ishtar Gate using only a 3-by-4 foot part of it, and enabling visitors to see how the Mesopotamian limestone looked in its glory days.
This initiative will make its first appearance at the Detroit Institute of Arts. A dedicated app called "Lumin" will allow AR interactivity and will provide visitors with AR tools to view pieces being exhibited. The Lenovo Phab 2 Pro will be used for this particular museum and will be available at the front desk.
AR is different from virtual reality. While virtual reality places a user in a virtual world, AR's technology brings virtual objects to physical worlds (with content confined to a smart screen).
Google created this initiative in line with its vision of AR enhanced exhibits that was publicized during the Mobile World Congress in February last year. The company claims that this is just the beginning of how people will be able to use Tango.