Huawei's 3D Live Object Feature Might Be Magical

At the Huawei Mate 20 Pro event this week, Huawei showed off a new augmented reality feature called 3D Live Object. In addition to objects pre-loaded into the system, this feature will allow users to scan their own favorite object for later use. Once scanned, a 3D Live Object will be made available to exist in videos filmed by the Mate 20 Pro and will interact with their environment.

"With 3D Live Object on the Huawei Mate 20 Pro, you can capture an item and then bring it to life," said a Huawei representative. "Make fantasy a reality." Below you'll see one demonstration of this feature in play. This was captured at the Huawei event this morning, live and on stage.

Below you'll see another view of what's going on here. With 3D Live Object, the user can control their object with an in-camera set of buttons and a joystick. The joystick allows the character to move around, while the buttons make them do certain actions: cross step, run, jump, and etcetera.

Huawei also aims to take on their competition – Apple and Samsung – with their own 3D Live Emoji. These emoji look very similar to what's delivered by Apple, but seem to be JUST different enough that they won't be mistaken for their closest relatives.

Live Emoji action is made possible with the Mate 20 Pro's front-facing collection of cameras and sensors. In the mix is a 24MP RGB camera, a dot projector (for 3D sensing), flood illuminator, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, and an IR camera. There's also a front-facing speaker in there for good measure.

The back-facing camera work is made possible with the Huawei Mate 20 Pro's three-lens camera setup. That includes one 40MP camera with wide angle lens (27mm), a 20MP camera with ultra wide angle lens (16mm), and an 8MP camera with 3x telephoto lens (80mm). These are all situated on the back of the phone with a single LED flash and Leica certification.