Earlier this week, I was fortunate to be able to take part in an exciting technology demonstration.
I attended a Google Developer Group (GDG-DC) event that focused on the Google Cloud Platform–a platform for developing and hosting websites and applications–and featured a really cool application that is powered by the platform. The GDG-DC event was held on July 27, 2015, at Capital One’s headquarters in McLean, VA, and Capital One sponsored the event.
The event showcased Google Cloud Spin, an Android-based app that uses multiple smartphones that are configured and positioned in a way to generate a single snapshot of a subject in a 180-degree spin.
After the overview of how the app works, the audience was invited to take part in the demo.
Here’s how the demo worked.
The participant stood at a designated spot in front of a row of 10 interconnected smartphones that were on tripods and positioned in a semi-circle. The participant then jumped in the air, and the cameras worked in unison to generate a mid-air snapshot.
Behind the scenes, the app worked by taking the photos, uploading the images to the cloud, and mending the images together for a seamless 180-degree spin. The resulting spin was then made available as a .GIF image.
The spins are reminiscent of a scene in a science-fiction movie wherein a character appears to defy time and gravity as she/he is suspended in the air amid a frozen backdrop.
Anyway, my wife and I both participated in the demo.
It was fun!
[Update: The end of this post was updated to remove an embedded tweet from Google Cloud Spin which thanked me for visiting the event, because the tweet is no longer available on Twitter.]
