Sodar is an AR Tool by Google That Helps You Understand Social Distancing

Social distancing is barely a surprise for anyone at this point. As the world is trying to keep safe and stay at home, going out is only advised if it is essential. Google has introduced a new tool called Sodar that uses augmented reality to help you understand just how much space you need to maintain based on the rules that have been told to us.

There is no way to overlook the fact that COVID-19 has changed the way we are looking at life. It is important that we are taking as much care of ourselves and our loved ones. We are not sure what the future holds, but companies who have the technology are making sure that those who can utilize these technologies are doing so to keep themselves safe.

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Sodar Uses Augmented Reality to Help You Maintain the Appropriate Amount of Distance During the Global Health Crisis

Now we are all aware of just how cool augmented reality is. This is not the first time Google has shown it off, but this time, things are different. Sodar uses WebXR and allows people visualise social distancing guidelines around the environment. The best part is that they are supported on your mobile device, so you do not have to worry about anything. You can head over to sodar.withgoogle.com and you will get more information on how this technology works.

So how does it's work? Well, it is fairly simple. It is a web-based augmented reality tool that works by super-imposing a 2-meter virtual ring on the viewfinder (screen in this case) of your device. Considering how it is web-based, you do not need a dedicated app for it to work. However, at the time of writing, support for only Chrome and Android is available.

To make it work, simply go to the Sodar website on Chrome on your smartphone, grant it the permission necessary and the program will ask you to calibrate your device. Once that is done, it will start showing a virtual ring in which you will need to stay inside to maintain the social distance of 2 meters or 6 feet.

However, you must keep in mind that while this does look like a good initiative, it is still based on augmented reality, and it is not a fool-proof solution to how we interact with the world, and there can be still some discrepancies. Therefore, the boundary it shows should be taken as a guideline rather than the be all end all solution.

Whatever the case might be, Sodar shows that augmented reality has come a long way, and will go a long way.