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Is that a T. rex in my living room? Use Google to see dinos in the real world
“We have a T. Rex!” Thanks to a new partnership between Google and Universal that lets you add dinosaurs to the real world using AR technology, that famous line from “Jurassic Park” has never been more fitting. RELATED: 5 of our favorite AR apps.
You can add a spiky Stegosaurus to your living room, a towering T. Rex to your kitchen, or even make a tiny Pterodactyl fly across the road, all by simply using Google Search. Before you write this off as a cheesy gimmick, though, you should know that these dinosaurs are actually pretty cool — and pretty realistic.
These dinosaurs were created using technology from Ludia’s “Jurassic World Alive” game, and are some of the most realistic models out there. Let’s look at some of the cool creations and how you can make your own.
How to have some dinosaur fun with AR
“To create the 3D dinosaurs, our concept artists first did preliminary research to discover information about each creature,” says Camilo Sanin, Ludia’s Lead on Character Creations. “Not only did we draw research from various forms of literature, our artists also worked with paleontologists and the ‘Jurassic World’ team to make the assets as accurate and realistic as possible. Even the smallest of details, such as irregularities of skin color and patterns, are important.”
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And, while this new AR feature is a great way to add some fun to your world while adding in a few prehistoric virtual dinos into the mix — you won’t have to download any extra apps to your phone to use it.
All you need to have access to is the Google app or any Android browser to make virtual dinosaurs roam your earth. And, this feature works for iPhone and Android as long as you have one of those two downloaded on your phone.
To add a dinosaur on Android:
- Search for “dinosaur” or one of the 10 dinosaurs on the Google app or any Android browser.
- Tap “View in 3D” once the search results pull up.
- You can see 3D content on devices running with Android 7 and above and you can see AR content on ARCore-enabled devices.
- You can also easily explore all dinosaurs using the carousel format.
To add a dinosaur on iOS:
- Search for “dinosaur” or one of the 10 dinosaurs on the Google app or on Google.com with Chrome or Safari.
- Tap “View in 3D” once the search results pull up.
- 3D and AR content is available on devices running iOS 11 and above.
Following these instructions will add the dinosaur to your space automatically, and it will even auto-scale the creature so it fits on your screen.
Once you’ve added the AR dinosaur to your environment, it will move, swing, and sway all over the place, and will even turn and stare at you menacingly (if you’re playing with the virtual T. Rex, anyway). The realistic movements and features make for some pretty cool pictures as they interact with your pets or kids.
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You can also use this feature to create AR videos — or recreate your favorite scenes from the “Jurassic World” movies — with the recording option.
Let’s face it, it’s been a pretty rough year. A little bit of AR dinosaur fun might just be what the doctor ordered to brighten someone’s day and we could all use a little joy right about now.
Tags: 3D, Android, Apple iPhone, Apple Safari, apps, browser, devices, dinosaurs, Google, Google app, Google Chrome, recording, technology, videos, YouTube
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