For those of you who aren’t familiar, Project Tango is an attempt to create mobile devices that can create 3D models of the environment surrounding them. Developed by Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects group (ATAP), the company already has several companies and organizations on board with the project, the latest and most important of which is Qualcomm. While nothing is confirmed, a partnership with Qualcomm could mean that Project Tango is getting closer to entering the consumer market. 

Google and its band of ATAP geniuses have already managed to squeeze Project Tango into the smartphone form factor. But, until now, these have only been complicated developer models that have been in very short supply. And while it’s still unclear what Google actually has planned for Tango, there’s a little ray of hope in the form of a new partnership with Qualcomm that could indicate these space-sensing phones are coming to a store near you. Granted, Google didn’t say these Qualcomm reference phone designs will ever enter the consumer market. But with a big chip maker actively working with Google to explore the possibilities, we’re closer than ever to seeing Tango in your pocket. Soon we’ll all be mapping the space around us. Or not. This is simply a reference design, so there’s no telling how far this project will go. The new devices are going to be handed over to developers next week, so it’s up to them to do something interesting. From what we’ve seen, Tango has a lot of potential to help evolve how we see and interact with the space around us. Last year, the company said the point of Tango is to give mobile devices a human understanding of space and motion. Given Google’s newfound interest in VR, Tango could play a very important role in how users, and phones, interact with their environment.