Google’s new AR tool will visualise social distancing
Google has a new tool, called Sodar, to help you measure your social distancing space – available for Android users now. Google’s new Sodar experiment helps you keep social distance by using Augmented Reality (AR). It overlays a digital guide that shows if you are two meters away from someone or not.
Find our more in a recent article published by The Times newspaper. Social distancing is an effective way to stop the spread of Coronavirus. Now Google is offering a new tool that uses AR to help you enforce it.
“Sodar” is an experiment created by Google which is designed to use AR. It puts a virtual two metre (just over 6 feet) social distancing boundary around you. That’s the distance that’s generally recommended to keep between two people to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Since this is using AR, don’t expect the line to be perfectly precise, but it should be somewhat close. In recent tests, it seems accurate enough. It also really puts in perspective just how far that distance actually is.
Sodar – use WebXR to help visualise social distancing guidelines in your environment. Using Sodar on supported mobile devices, create an augmented reality two metre radius ring around you.
How does it work?
Notably, Sodar only works on Google Chrome and only on Android devices. The first time you access it, you’ll be greeted with some permissions. Those include for AR directly as well as camera access for Google Chrome if you’ve never granted that before. After giving it a look at the ground to calibrate the sensors, the line appears.
Keep in mind that AR based solutions are not fool proof in their assessment of our real world. Despite all the advancements treat the boundary suggested as a guideline rather than a measure of accuracy. In matters of health and public safety, it is better to err on the side of caution. Still, it’s a good tool to have to reinforce the ideas of social distancing and just how
much distance is needed.
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