It seems that children can no longer have fun without a cell phone and, if you don’t see a problem with that, you can count on Google’s help. When searching for an animal or object in the search engine, a button activates its 3D version, in augmented reality, and the game helps to find that animal or object, with the cell phone, in the environment.
More than ever, we must stay indoors now, during quarantine. However, this can be more fun when playing with 3D models on Google, available in search. Just use an Android or iOS smartphone (iPhone) and use your imagination.
Your children can find domestic and wild animals, planets and several other models in AR (Augmented Reality), even including products from stores without much effort.
What was?
Augmented reality uses devices to add digital content to the real world. Unlike virtual reality, you don’t need headsets, glasses or other equipment. Just use your phone’s camera and an AR app.
All you need is a phone or tablet with Android 7.0 (Nougat) or higher. Google has a list of all currently supported devices.
- Asus
- General Mobile
- Global HMD
- Huawei
- Infinix Mobile
- Kyocera
- LG
- Motorola
- OnePlus
- Oppo
- Samsung
- Sharp
- Sony
- Techno
- Live
- Xiaomi
- Zebra
Check if your cell phone appears in this list, in case something doesn’t work as expected.
For those with an iPhone and/or iPad, note that the ARCore system supports all ARKit-compatible devices running iOS 11.0 or later.
It’s AR of the tiger!
If you’ve got an AR-enabled phone, you can now bring select animals right into your space for a safari (or safe snuggle) with Search. pic.twitter.com/kWpudETgeq
— Google (@Google) May 31, 2019
Table of Contents
How to find 3D animals and objects on Google
Now that you have everything ready and Android or iOS updated, just look for the terms listed below and then you should see a result that says “See in 3D”. Add the term “3D” to your search, you can do more accurate searches.
So for a 3D dog:
- Open Google search (application or browser);
- Search for “dog”;
- Scroll down the page and find the “See in 3D” button;
- Touch and you will see the dog in 3D;
- Touch “see in your space” to see in augmented reality;
- The system will “detect the floor” and overlap with the image of the dog.
Then, you can “take a picture” of the projection in your environment, together with the children and save it in the smartphone gallery to publish on any social network or website.
3D animals on Google
Technically, there is no official Google list of all animals available in 3D and augmented reality, but there are several known examples for you to test.
- Eagle
- Macaw
- Goat
- Horse
- Dog (generic)
French Bulldog
Pomeranian Lulu (Zwergspitz)
Labrador Retriever
Pug
Rottweiler - Cat
- Raccoon
- Alligator
- Leopard
- Lion
- Wolf
- Urchin
- Panda
- duck
- Royal Python (Snake)
- Octopus
- Pony
- Lophiiformes (Fish)
- Turtle
- Tiger
- Shark
- Bear
- Deer
- Cheetah
- Penguin
There are probably others and Google should add animals over time!
NASA
Google and NASA have also partnered to offer a vast collection of celestial bodies, like planets and their moons, but also some other objects like asteroids. You can find the AR versions of most of them by searching for names.
These 3D results, however, only appear when you see the NASA website ( solarsystem.nasa.gov ). It may be easier to include the term NASA in the search.
- Mercury
- Venus
- Earth
- Moon
- Mars
- Phobos
- Deimos
- Jupiter
- Europe
- Callisto
- Ganymede
- Saturn
- Titan
- Mimas
- Tethys
- Iapetus
- Hyperion
- Uranus
- Umbriel
- Titania
- Oberon
- Ariel
- Neptune
- Merman
- Honorable mention: Pluto
In addition to the planets, NASA also allows you to view some of your vehicles and satellites as 3D models. Here are some of the search terms you can try.
- Voyager 1
- Apollo
- SMAP
- GRACE-FO
- Curiosity
- Spirit
- Cassini
- Juno
- Delta II
- 70-meter Antenna
- Neil Armstrong’s space suit
You can test your searches in English (or even in other languages).
Didn’t it work on your phone?
The system uses Google Play Services for AR to offer augmented reality experiences in apps created for the Google AR platform. If it didn’t work on your phone, you may have uninstalled the feature or it is out of date.
Thus:
Install Google Play Services for AR
- On Android, open the Google Play Store app;
- Find the Google Play Services app for AR;
- Touch “Download” or “Update”.
You can also try with body parts, cars, Santa Claus and other topics.
With information: Google