Augmented reality (AR) has been around for some time now, made even more popular when the infamous Pokemon GO was launched in 2016. The excitement was pretty intense, with people constantly glued to their phones (more so than usual).
Other than the fact that Pokemon is a classic childhood favourite show many love, AR’s technology of combining virtual elements with the real world was what really turned up the crazy level. These projections can be used in many ways, and digital creators are already setting high standards for it on Instagram. The most popular AR filter thus far is probably the super realistic looking dog filter by Antonio Ruggiero, which fooled some people (ourselves included) into thinking it was a real dog.
But hold up - did you know you can now see animals via AR in Google Search? (Only on devices with ARKit and ARCore for Apple and Android devices respectively). Earlier this year at Google’s annual developer conference, they launched a number of AR features - everyone’s favourite is probably the one where you can preview AR animals.
Simply search for an animal on your Chrome or Google app, and tap the “View in 3D” button on the Knowledge Panel that pops up in the search results. Follow the instructions onscreen and voila! This development is in line with Google’s belief that the “easiest way to wrap your head around new information is to see it”. For now, available animals include lions, tigers, bears, alpine goats, timberwolves, European hedgehogs, angler fish, and emperor penguins and pandas. Use your fingers to resize and zoom in the animal, or simply move around it for a better experience!
Have you tried this out yet?
By: Celestine Foo
