If you don’t have a tape measure to hand, you can still measure lengths, areas, and volumes with Google’s Measure Up experimental web app. With the magic of augmented reality, you can select points in the camera view and then drag them to create lines and 2D and 3D shapes to take measurements.
Let's take a look at how to use Measure Up.
Launch the App
Measure Up isn't a standalone app from the Play Store. To use this augmented reality app for Android, all you need to do instead is open the Chrome browser on your phone and enter the following URL: measureup.withgoogle.com.
If your device is compatible—and most modern Android phones should be—you’ll see the Measure Up title screen. Press the green Launch button to open the web app. If you're prompted for permission for Chrome to access your phone’s camera, select Allow.
Start Measuring
The Measure Up app will ask you to point your phone’s camera at the ground and move it around to find the floor. Do this, and after a few seconds you should see a circular target. You are now ready to measure items.
Point the target at the ground, then tap the green button at the bottom to fix that point. Now move the phone to position the target at another point and you’ll see a line drawn from the original point; tap the green button to fix it.
At this juncture, you can press Done to measure the length, or carry on setting more points to measure area or volume. If so, drag the target to create a rectangular shape; when ready, hit the green button to fix it.
You can hit Done to show the dimensions of the 2D shape—tap the top left to switch between inches and centimeters. Alternatively, you can drag the 2D shape up or down into a 3D cuboid to measure a volume; again, press Done to fix it and reveal the dimensions.
Measuring a physical item isn’t easy, but can be done with a little practice.
It's best to select the end points of the item’s front edge, then tilt the camera upwards to aim the target further back to set the item’s depth, then finally drag the shape up into a cuboid to encompass the item. You should then get a rough idea of its dimensions, from which you can calculate the volume.
How to Use Google’s Measure Up App
You have learned how to use the Measure Up web app to measure the length, area or volume of an item. Measure Up is one of Google’s experimental apps using WebXR, which brings together AR and VR on the web to make them more convenient and widely accessible.