When HP made its big announcement about its soon-to-be-implemented MultiJet Fusion 3D printing technology, the electronics giant also unveiled a completely new computing platform to pair perfectly with its entrance into the 3D printing space. The HP Sprout features 3D scanning, gesture control, and touch screens to create designs that can be 3D printed through an in-house 3D printer or service bureau. Originally designed for creatives and the like, HP has announced a new version of their blended reality computer designed for “immersive learning” and they’re calling it the Sprout Pro.
The HP Sprout was meant to enable users to embrace the concept of blended reality (alternatively dubbed “mixed reality” by Microsoft and “reality computing” by Autodesk), in which the physical and digital worlds merge through the use of 3D scanning and 3D printing. With a built-in RealSense 3D camera, from Intel, Sprout is capable of 3D scanning objects that can be manipulated with the computer’s vertical or horizontal touch screens before 3D printing these modified copies in the physical world.
HP suggests that the Sprout Pro is ideal for educational environments because the platform focuses on remote collaboration and tactile learning. HP’s new External Display Mixer allows for users to remotely share either of the touchscreen displays over Skype. This combined with the ability to annotate on the Skype whiteboard during a call allows for greater interactivity. HP Scan has been improved with “professional-level document scanning and optical character recognition”, including a number of customization options, while scanning. The HP Magnifier, with zooming and capture options built-in, allows users to share live physical objects with an audience.
Tactility is invoked when users 3D scan real world objects and manipulate them via the touchscreens, which were previously incorporated into the original Sprout. 3D printing those objects adds an extra level of concrete learning to the technology, which is why, in addition to the new Sprout Pro, new 3D-dedicated apps have been added to the Sprout Ecosystem, including Autodesk-Tinkercad, Sculpt+ and Print Studio. While Tinkercad is meant for easy 3D modeling, Sculpt+ is a 3D sculpting program, both creating objects that can be 3D printed on Print Studio.
Louis Kim, global head and general manager of Immersive Computing at HP Inc., says of the updates, “Sprout Pro adds tools for creative professionals, students and instructors to the ground breaking Sprout platform. Instant 2D/3D scanning, augmented reality and an immersive dual screen is now boosted by pro-class applications and security — accelerating workflows and safeguarding data. Sprout Pro is another milestone in expanding HP’s vision of Blended Reality.”
To be released in February with a price of $2,199, the Sprout Pro will be accompanied by HP Education Edition notebooks, HP School Pack Software 2.0, and an educational program that HP has created with Microsoft. Altogether, it sounds as though HP is really just repackaging their products with a new target market. Given the economic state of most public schools, at least in the US, they may be looking at well-off schools that can obtain new technologies with less obstacles in their way.
Regardless of their marketing strategy, HP is keenly aware of the next phase of computing, which will rely on such technologies as gesture control, 3D scanning, and 3D printing, as well as AR and VR (which they’ve embraced with the HP ENVY Phoenix, devoted to VR gaming with the HTC Vive). Whether it’s referred to blended reality, reality computing, or mixed reality, this ecosystem is coming. In order to get it off the ground, though, HP will need to ensure that the functionality is there. I tried to use a Sprout once in a Microsoft store and the clerk couldn’t get any of the apps to startup. Hopefully, this time around, the Sprout can meet the ideals proposed with HP’s blended reality.
