HP has announced a new version of the Sprout all-in-one computer. Not that most people will be aware that there was an original Sprout to begin with. This computer was mainly aimed at a very niche market, but it really shouldn’t have been considering that it includes both a projector and 3D scanner.
The new Sprout Pro takes advantage of the advances in technology since the original was announced way back in the ancient times of 2014. It features a Touch Mat for manipulating objects on screen, and can project additional images onto the mat for more precise movement. The Touch Mat also supports multiple users, with HP saying that it can recognise up to four hands at a time through its 20-point capacitive surface.
This Touch Mat can also be used as a drawing pad with HP’s Active Pen.
A 3D scanner built into the odd projection from the top of the Sprout Pro also allows the computer to digitally capture objects. It’s not quite as easy as leaving it on the table to be scanned though. The information provided indicates that users will have to manually hold the object in front of the scanner and rotate it.
The actual computer is contained behind a 23.8-inch FHD display, which is also unsurprisingly touch-enabled. Powering this is an Intel Core i7-7700T processor, up to 16GB RAM, and a Nvidia GeForce GT 960M 2GB. Storage varies across regions, with some places receiving a 1TB SSHD, while others had access to the 512GB SATA SSD.
HP has not included Thunderbolt 3 support on the new Sprout Pro, although it does have four USB 3.0 ports, and a single HDMI 2.0 port.
There’s no pricing or availability for the Sprout Pro just yet, although HP is saying that it will be appearing in selected countries in March.
