2 October 2020
The Lidar of the latest iPad pro for your projects
Great novelty in the world of augmented reality on tablets ! Apple’s latest addition, the iPad pro 2020, now has a Lidar sensor , previously unseen on Apple brand shelves.
We tested and created several prototypes to assess the possibilities of this new tablet, and let us share our feelings with you.
What is a lidar?
A Lidar (for Light Detection And Ranging) sensor uses a laser beam made up of multiple invisible (and eye-safe) points of light to scan its surroundings. Once the light beam has reached its target, it returns to the scanner, allowing the device to accurately and very quickly measure the distance between the scanner and obstacles.
Coupled with data of two cameras and to computer vision algorithms of the A12Z Bionic chip, it allows the iPad to improve the performance of ARKit and obtain a detailed understanding of its environment : recognition and measurement of objects, detection of humans, scanning and photogrammetry.
How useful in your professional fields?
The fields of application possible for your projects, whether industrial visualization , architecture , training , maintenance, or marketing ; are very large . Some examples :
- You want quickly create a virtual model of a real object (art, equipment, premises). You can now scan in seconds barely and export it to your modeling software, CAD, or simply keep it on your tablet to show it to your customers, or put it in demonstration on your website!
- You want preview an object, equipment, or virtual character in its future real environment ? The precision and stability of anchoring virtual objects in augmented reality is now better than ever. And the great novelty made viable by these technological improvements is the occlusion of real elements in the foreground (furniture, people walking past) on virtual elements , allowing a much more realistic integration of these into the environment . (Note: This possibility already existed on other equipment, but was most often confined to the detection and occlusion of planes)
Un chat virtuel dans un environnement réel : à gauche sans occlusion, à droite avec occlusion
- You want train or educate your staff Hygiene, Health, Safety, Environment (HSE, QHSE, HSSE) risks at work, in particular in this Covid period ? Based on the iPad’s ability to detect the presence and position of people in its field of vision, we have developed several mini prototypes to demonstrate the possibility:
- Of control the movement of people in risk areas (eg: worksite areas, warehouse traffic rules, dangerous or prohibited areas), and capable of raising an alert as soon as a person is detected in such an area
- Of detect non-compliance with social distancing rules between two people
- Of follow and supervise the postures of a person . Example of learning to lift heavy loads, positions requiring communication by gestures, etc …
- An idea ofmarketing / communication / game app based on augmented reality, the face recognition (ex: make-up, virtual glasses fitting), or the posture recognition (ex: trying on clothes and accessories), here too the iPad extends and refines its detection and monitoring capacity , opening up even more the field of possibilities!
Our conclusions
In our eyes we cross there an important step in the evolution of the possibilities of augmented reality . And although a part of these possibilities (notably the detection of humans) is still reserved for the latest iPads, there is no doubt that we are moving towards a democratization of these technologies , which will gradually become available on a wider variety of mobiles and tablets.
The application ideas presented above are only a small part of the possibilities offered by these new technologies. The only limit is your imagination !
So if a project idea crosses you, do not hesitate to let us know , we will be happy to answer your questions!
Notre prototype : Détection de mauvaises postures pour le lever de charge et détection de personnes en zones dangereuses