Suzanne Humphries
If you’ve ever wondered what’s on the exact opposite side of the world from you, you’re in good company. And now, with Google’s latest AR toy—dubbed Floom—you can finally see for yourself without having to purchase a spendy plane ticket.
There isn’t a formal app to download (at least not yet); instead, Android users (using the latest version of Chrome) can visit Floom’s page and scan a QR code to access the toy on your smartphone. From there, you’ll point your device’s camera straight down at the ground, tap the spiral tornado icon once it appears, and voila! You’ll get a peek of what the area there, on the opposite side of the planet from you, looks like.
If you tap on the name of the location, which appears above the view, you can get a better view of it in the Google Earth app. You can position the camera at other angles, as well, to explore other areas around the world without leaving your home.
Explore the world with Floom, a new experiment that lets you create AR tunnels to get to the other side of the planet ➝ https://t.co/QDn3ktteJF 🔎🌎 #WebXR pic.twitter.com/HDCmdy31Sx
— Google (@Google) April 7, 2021
Google announced Floom and other experiments on April 6. The experiments—which include a six-foot social distancing visualizer and a virtual measuring tool—all use WebXR, a tool for creating AR and VR experiences that work in webpages. Google announced another app, not yet released, that’ll make an augmented reality gallery out of your device’s photos.
via The Verge
