Social Distancing through Sodar: Google experiments with AR

0
657

With the coronavirus spreading worldwide, the health officials and government across the world are in efforts to curb the spread of the virus. Measures have been taken across the world to ensure that people stay at home. Wearing masks, sanitizing hands frequently, and practising social distancing norms are taken as the means to prevent the further spreading of Covid-19. All of these have become a way of life for all the people across the world. The pandemic is changing the way we think, and live. Everyone is trying to adjust to the new way of life that changed with the pandemic.

To help people follow the social distancing norms of six feet, recently  Google has come up with new experimentation that promotes social distancing through the use of augmented reality(AR). The recent development came out as a result of the company’s latest experimentation. The browser-based application named as Sodar uses the WebXR standards to provide augmented reality social distancing to individuals. Sodar is available only for android handset users. The application works like this, once the application is made available in our android set, it will have access to the camera. All we need to do is just point the camera to the ground and move around. The device recognizes the plane with a matrix of dots and the area of two meters will be shown in our android set which the recommended distance to be maintained by individuals to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The users get a statuary warning when they are found to be dangerously close to anyone in their surroundings. This app is known to use augmented reality to find the six feet or two-meter distance between persons

Sodar, the web-based app is intended to help people keep two meters or six feet distance apart through augmented reality. The tool has come out of an experiment with google to help people survive the pandemic and ensure social distancing norms. Sometimes it may find silly to use the phone every single time to find out the distance, the application has been regarded as an experimental rather than being official.