Google Sodar helps with social distancing through augmented reality

The AR experiment Sodar allows users to measure and display the distance to fellow human beings by means of augmented reality. By using the WebXR standard, the experience runs in the browser - an app does not have to be downloaded.

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, one topic has been discussed again and again: social distancing. Here in Switzerland it is 2 metres, in other countries it is only 1 or 1.5 metres. Either way, we have all had to adapt to the new social customs. But when are we really too close? Who among you has a good sense of the distance?

Ring shows the correct distance

To answer this very question, Google has released a new augmented reality app for Android that helps users visualise the right behaviour during social distancing.

Sodar, as the application is called, comes from Experiments with Google and uses web-based augmented reality and the mobile phone's camera to visualise the correct distance as a ring with a radius of two metres.

The application is very simple: Scan the QR Code or click on the sodar.withgoogle.com and put the phone down in the right position. Users can already see how well they are adhering to the recommended distance rules.

WebXR the future of VR

Sodar shows what is possible today with web-based augmented reality. Until now, anyone who wanted to access VR content via the internet with their smartphone or PC often had to struggle with installations that were as annoying as they were tedious, long loading times and cumbersome configuration screens.

The fact that it is no longer necessary to install a separate app means that immersive technology can reach a broader audience and be used by companies in a wide range of industries. Whether for the presentation of information, as Sodar does with regard to social distancing, or to supplement the real world with virtual content.

WebXR, as it is often referred to, is the future of augmented reality and mixed reality because it allows users to access immersive content instantly without complication or barriers.

Source: Medialist