Sodar app uses augmented reality to show the safe distance between people during the pandemic
In times of social distance, due to the pandemic of the new coronavirusIf you had to leave the house, the recommendation is to keep at least two meters from everyone you meet. But in practice, how much is this two-meter arc? Now there is a app of Google, The Sodar, which will help you to fulfill this recommendation. Using Augmented Reality, the app shows a virtual arc with radius of two meters around the user on the mobile screen.
Whenever you are in doubt if you are far enough away from someone, just open the app through Google Chrome and check. With the use of augmented reality, the marking follows any movement, in any direction. The resource is very useful, for example, for queues and any environment that has crowds of people, such as a supermarket.
If the app show that you are too close to someone, just get away. And if it shows that someone is too close to you, just ask (politely) for the person to walk away. The goal is to help you stay safe outside.
Sodar application marking accompanies any movementFor now, the app in augmented reality is only available for smartphones Android, exclusively through the browser Google Chrome.
Augmented reality WebXR technology
THE app works via browser, using the API (“Application Programming Interface”, in free translation) WebXR, which supports 3D rendering for augmented reality. Theoretically, the app works on any Android compatible with ARCore (including, Google made available a list of compatible devices), which is now called “Google Play Services for Augmented Reality“.
Only there is an easier way for you to confirm that your device is compatible. Just access the Sodar page on a PC or notebook and scan, with your smartphone, the QR Code that appears on the screen (just like you do to access WhatsApp Web, for example). You can also access the https://sodar.withgoogle.com/ page directly from Google Chrome on your Android phone.
"Google Play Services for RA" unlocks the augmented reality experiences created with ARCore. Through automatic updates, AR-enabled applications work without the need for additional downloads.
Another Google action in the pandemic
Application development Sodar among other actions of the Google to help fight the new coronavirus pandemic. In April, Apple and Google announced a historic partnership to help stem the spread of COVID-19, a respiratory disease caused by the virus. The technology giants proposed the creation of graphical interface tools and unique APIs, to Android and iOS, to perform the screening of people with COVID-19. THE Showmetech explained how this technology will work.
Another of the pandemic-related Google's was the implementation of features in the Google Meet and Duo apps to improve video calls. This was necessary because remote work is becoming increasingly necessary and common, for the protection and well-being of people during quarantine. In this scenario, the number of video calls has skyrocketed and the updates aim to meet this demand.
Other ideas to help (and get informed) in the fight
A map created by the project Together Against Covid shows the risk of contamination by the new coronavirus in neighborhoods in Brazil. Developed by Faissal Nemer Hajar, a medical student at the Federal University of Paran (UFPR), this map collects information provided voluntarily by users and, using its own algorithm, analyzes these data and manages to indicate which neighborhoods and streets have the most cases confirmed from new coronavirus.
Speaking of maps, Microsoft developed the application COVID-19 Tracker for Windows 10, which brings real-time data on the evolution of the pandemic in the world to the computer screen. The application works with Microsoft's search platform, the Bing. In its interface, the program brings updated data on the cases, in addition to relevant news and videos from sources that the application considers reliable. It is also possible to save specific locations to monitor the evolution of the pandemic.
Sources: The Verge and Play Store