By taking advantage of augmented reality technology and artificial intelligence, distances can be measured using the smartphone's camera . Google recently released a new distance measuring app, to be used, for example, to measure the size of a box or the width of a room.
The Google Measure App, perhaps the best in this category, can be used for free on all phones compatible with ARCore, the augmented reality technology promoted by Google. Among the smartphones compatible with ARCore there are the Samsung Galaxy S7, S8, S9, A%, A7, A8, the Google Pixels (including Nexus 5X and 6), the LG G6, the OnePlus 3T and 5, Xperia XZ1, Moto G5S and G6, Huawei P20.
Those who do not have an ARCore compatible smartphone can still download other alternative apps for Android such as those listed below, which are among the best for making distance measurements with the camera . These apps do not use artificial intelligence, but use trigonometry to automatically find the distance of the object.
READ ALSO: Augmented reality app for Android to interact with the real world
1) The Google Measure App can be downloaded for free from the Google Play Store on ARCore compatible phones. If we use an incompatible smartphone, the download will not be available. Once the app is downloaded, you can touch the three-point button for settings so you can change the units of measurement and set the metric system. When using the Google measurement app, you can point the camera at a flat surface such as the floor or a table to measure length and height.
The app requires you to move the camera around the object at a different angle (following the hand icon that moves on the screen) to get a good understanding of the object that Google Measure is scanning. This phase is very important in order to obtain the most accurate measurements possible. When the app is ready, you can drag the start and end points of the surface to be measured with your finger to see the approximate size between the selected points with a blue line. Once the width of the box or floor is measured, move the start and end positions of the blue line to measure the height. You can then take a photo of the measured object by pressing the camera icon.
According to Google PlayStore reviews, the Google Measure app works better on some phones like the Google Pixel 2 while on Samsung phones it seems to be less accurate. In any case, it should be pointed out that Google itself describes its app by saying that the measurements made with the camera are estimates, not precise therefore as they would be using a ruler.
2) Smart Measure is also an excellent alternative of the best distance measuring apps, free for Android, the most popular of this kind. To use this app you need to set the height of the phone from the ground by touching the option visible on the left. After that, hold the phone at the set height, point the camera towards the bottom of the object and let the app calculate the distance in real time.
3) Similar to the Google app, i.e. with distance measurements made through augmented reality, there is also the ARuler application.
4) Distance Meter is one of the best free Android apps for measuring distances using the camera of the Android phone. This app allows you to easily find the distance between us and any object simply by pointing the camera towards it. In order to function, it requires standing up and pointing the camera viewfinder of the app towards the bottom of the object.
5) Smart Distance is from the same developer as Smart Measure, which works differently. While the first app measures distances of up to 50 meters, it manages to estimate longer distances, but requires you to enter the height or width of the point to be measured (because it uses a perspective-based calculation).
6) EasyMeasure is another simple distance measurement app for Android via the camera, which always requires you to set the height of the phone.
7) Distance Meter is an Android application that can measure the distance to an object using the camera.
All you need is to open the app's camera and point it at the object to get the distance.
After opening this app, press the "H" button and then enter the height of the device.
Then hold the phone at the height of the device and point the red crosshair towards the bottom of the object.
8) Moasure is a free app for Android of intelligent measurement that uses the camera of the phone and its sensors to calculate the distance between two points or to find out the degrees of the angle between two walls.
Setting up the app is a bit difficult, you have to calibrate the sensors following the initial tutorial.
With this app you can use your phone as if it were really a measuring tape.
9) Finally, Ruler is a simple app that transforms the mobile screen into a ruler to measure distances in centimeters, in the most classic and precise way possible.
READ ALSO: 20 Android apps for every day, free multifunction accessories
The Google Measure App, perhaps the best in this category, can be used for free on all phones compatible with ARCore, the augmented reality technology promoted by Google. Among the smartphones compatible with ARCore there are the Samsung Galaxy S7, S8, S9, A%, A7, A8, the Google Pixels (including Nexus 5X and 6), the LG G6, the OnePlus 3T and 5, Xperia XZ1, Moto G5S and G6, Huawei P20.
Those who do not have an ARCore compatible smartphone can still download other alternative apps for Android such as those listed below, which are among the best for making distance measurements with the camera . These apps do not use artificial intelligence, but use trigonometry to automatically find the distance of the object.
READ ALSO: Augmented reality app for Android to interact with the real world
1) The Google Measure App can be downloaded for free from the Google Play Store on ARCore compatible phones. If we use an incompatible smartphone, the download will not be available. Once the app is downloaded, you can touch the three-point button for settings so you can change the units of measurement and set the metric system. When using the Google measurement app, you can point the camera at a flat surface such as the floor or a table to measure length and height.
The app requires you to move the camera around the object at a different angle (following the hand icon that moves on the screen) to get a good understanding of the object that Google Measure is scanning. This phase is very important in order to obtain the most accurate measurements possible. When the app is ready, you can drag the start and end points of the surface to be measured with your finger to see the approximate size between the selected points with a blue line. Once the width of the box or floor is measured, move the start and end positions of the blue line to measure the height. You can then take a photo of the measured object by pressing the camera icon.
According to Google PlayStore reviews, the Google Measure app works better on some phones like the Google Pixel 2 while on Samsung phones it seems to be less accurate. In any case, it should be pointed out that Google itself describes its app by saying that the measurements made with the camera are estimates, not precise therefore as they would be using a ruler.
2) Smart Measure is also an excellent alternative of the best distance measuring apps, free for Android, the most popular of this kind. To use this app you need to set the height of the phone from the ground by touching the option visible on the left. After that, hold the phone at the set height, point the camera towards the bottom of the object and let the app calculate the distance in real time.
3) Similar to the Google app, i.e. with distance measurements made through augmented reality, there is also the ARuler application.
4) Distance Meter is one of the best free Android apps for measuring distances using the camera of the Android phone. This app allows you to easily find the distance between us and any object simply by pointing the camera towards it. In order to function, it requires standing up and pointing the camera viewfinder of the app towards the bottom of the object.
5) Smart Distance is from the same developer as Smart Measure, which works differently. While the first app measures distances of up to 50 meters, it manages to estimate longer distances, but requires you to enter the height or width of the point to be measured (because it uses a perspective-based calculation).
6) EasyMeasure is another simple distance measurement app for Android via the camera, which always requires you to set the height of the phone.
7) Distance Meter is an Android application that can measure the distance to an object using the camera.
All you need is to open the app's camera and point it at the object to get the distance.
After opening this app, press the "H" button and then enter the height of the device.
Then hold the phone at the height of the device and point the red crosshair towards the bottom of the object.
8) Moasure is a free app for Android of intelligent measurement that uses the camera of the phone and its sensors to calculate the distance between two points or to find out the degrees of the angle between two walls.
Setting up the app is a bit difficult, you have to calibrate the sensors following the initial tutorial.
With this app you can use your phone as if it were really a measuring tape.
9) Finally, Ruler is a simple app that transforms the mobile screen into a ruler to measure distances in centimeters, in the most classic and precise way possible.
READ ALSO: 20 Android apps for every day, free multifunction accessories
