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Friday
May292020

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.

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