Google's new Sodar AR tool helps enforce social distancing

While establishments try to help customers maintain social distancing, sometimes the markers and signs used aren't where they should be (like people can walk over them or get blown over). And so, Google released a new augmented reality-based tool called Sodar to mark what two metres away from you is like—this distance is the recommended minimum for social distancing. Sodar doesn't need an app to run; users just need to head to sodar.withgoogle.com or goo.gle/sodar in their Chrome browsers on their Android devices. Tap through different permission dialogues, and then the site will load the AR experience.

You need to give the tool a view of the ground to calibrate and give you a clear curved line of what two metres of space in all directions look like. It's not entirely accurate, though, so treat it as an estimation. You must know that it doesn't work on iOS and some Android devices. As Android Police points out, your phone might need to be ARCore-compatible. But if it does work on your device, it's a handy tool to have these days.

Childish Gambino turns into Playmoji for Pixel phones

You might have seen these AR stickers of Stranger Things or Star Wars before on Pixel phones. You might have even seen our own post about this on our Instagram. But now these AR stickers, or Playmoji as Google calls them, gains another prominent star: musician Childish Gambino. You can now drop him into your life via these stickers and watch him dance to three of his hits: “Redbone,” “Summertime Magic,” and “This is America.” Google worked with Donald Glover (a.k.a. Childish Gambino) and his choreographer to make sure his dance moves are as true to life as possible. On top of that, you can even use his Playmoji in selfie mode and have him respond to different facial expressions.

Google’s promoting this new Playmoji with the #pixeldanceoff hashtag. You won’t win any prizes but if you want to show off your dance moves alongside AR version of Childish Gambino, then go right ahead.

19 Crimes wine brings AR to wine bottle labels thanks to app

Wine bottle labels are sometimes the reason consumers will pick a new bottle to try. Now with Augmented Reality (AR) wine labels can be so much more thanks to the Living Wine Labels app which uses cameras in iOS and Android devices to bring the labels to life. This is really suited to Australian Winemaker 19 Crimes, who derives branding inspiration from outlaws banished to Australian prison.

The result, as seen above, is both delightful and  a little eerie, but it also reflects that AR can have a commercial purpose outside of games and app experiences. As for the wine itself? I thoroughly enjoyed both the Shiraz and the Cabernet Sauvignon bottles.

Jurassic World Alive game brings dinosaurs to AR

Think of it as Pokemon Go except that instead of fluffy cartoonish monsters the stars of the experience are dinosaurs. Jurassic World Alive recreates the thrill and excitement of dealing with escaped (and highly evolved) dinosaurs thrashing around in the world around you.

The objective of the game is to hunt down dinosaurs in order to extract their DNA, bringing players face to face with these behemoths. The graphics are decent considering this is designed for smartphones and tablets.

Click to read more ...