3D Cameras Are About To Go Mainstream

http://www.vox.com/2015/1/9/7520967/intel-realsense-3d-camera

So, this is interesting - the infrared camera used in the Microsoft Kinect is what allows for depth perception to capture and recognize objects.

Put one on a drone and its like having a sonar.

There was a time when you could create 3d models with such a camera - take a picture and you make what shoot. this is how motion capture works to some extent - the geometry of the models arent clean but depending on the purpose it doesnt matter. Thats ok for something subjective like a model of a person, but doesnt work (I dont think) for something explicit like an industrial object.

I'll have to digest this more to generate ideas, but it's a good one.

Off hand I think about something like this for generating a real-time representation of a face talking, and creating an image that can be put into a virtual space - AR (augmented reality), then combine with haptics so the person in the virtual environment can physically feel the other person for telepresence. If you can send a drone somewhere to scan a location, then send back the data to a virtual space, you could network that feedback with a drone from another location and combine data.

Example: superimposeinfrared scans of multimple operators into an infrared scan of a location, and relay the combination into one virtual space. If the elements/objects in the 'shared' location serve as interfaces for affecting things in the real world, the result can be a collaborative space.

Example: a remote team of operators controlling robots in an industrial plant. Or a remote army controlling robot drones. The physical dynamics of the remote location can be simulated in a virtual space to account for collisions, gravity, light, darkness, reflections, refractions, etc.