Google Search adds new 3D and AR options with Apollo 11, Human Anatomy and more

Google has added new Augmented Reality (AR) enabled 3D content in Search. Google has implemented AR in a very useful and simple manner for everyone using mobile search. Initially, the Google Search content mainly included animals in AR, which allowed users to turn their homes into a virtual zoo. Google has been working with many companies to bring AR-enabled 3D content in Search, including Samsung, BioDigital, New Balance, Visible Body, NASA, Target, Wayfair, and Volvo. Before we check out what is new in Google Search AR, let’s understand what is AR and how it works.

What is Augmented Reality?

The term augmented reality (AR) was attributed to researcher named Thomas Caudell from 1990. The term Augment comes from the latin word ‘Augere’, which means ‘to increase’ or ‘to add’, which is why the augmented reality technology is designed to add to our existing reality. Augmented reality also known as mixed reality, which is very different than virtual reality. Unlike virtual reality (VR), the main purpose of augmented reality (AR) is NOT to cut out the real world and transport you to another one, but rather it is to be an enhancement of your real world with a set of magical virtual objects in it. In Augmented reality, a person’s real environment is supplemented or augmented with computer generated images with motion tracking. You have already used primitive forms of AR if you have played around with Pokemon Go or iPhone’s animoji during Facetime. With AR, objects can appear on tables, information can be displayed in floating windows on your wall and graphics can be generated while tracking their motion to the user’s field of view. The AR and VR technology directly affects the perceptions and process of the human mind and it is the only technology that can deliver actual packaged experiences. The underlying technology is very powerful and feasible. It is expected that by 2025, attractive AR and VR experiences will take a common place in our lives. If done right, these technologies show incredible potential. We have already seen products like Tilt Five that allows you to Play 3D Holographic Games on your table. For now, if you want to get a feel for AR, Google has made it very easily accessible by integrating it with Google Search on your mobile smartphones.

New Additions to Google Search

In addition to the already available animal subjects, Google has now added many new structures, objects, and places. As of this week, Google has now added human anatomical systems, cellular structures and more. You can also use a new carousel format on Android, as well as a recording option to share social-worthy AR videos with friends and family.

Google has partnered with BioDigital to build 11 human body systems with AR in Search on mobile. You can see a heart up close or trace the bones in the human body and see how they connect by looking up skeletal system. The AR systems also has labels on each body part so that you can learn more about it or under scale by viewing life-size images in AR.

Google Search also offers a magnified view of our microscopic world, allowing you understand what’s inside tiny organisms, like cells, that are hard to visualize. Google has created AR models of animal, plant and bacteria cells by partnering with Visible Body. You can search for mitochondria to learn its components and zoom in to an animal cell to see how it stores DNA.

In addition, you can turn your home into a Museum using AR with Google Arts & Culture and institutions like the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. You can now see the Apollo 11 command module in 3D or look up a life-size view of Neil Armstrong’s spacesuit, or look at some of the world’s oldest known cave paintings by stepping inside the Chauvet Cave.

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How to use AR in Google Search

You can simply search for the object on Google using your phone and select “View in 3D” to see them in your space. For your convenience, see the list below for different subjects and objects your can view in 3D and AR using Google Search.

How to find & interact with 3D results

1. On your Android or iPhone, go to www.google.com
2. Search for an animal, object, or place.
3. If a 3D result is available, tap View in 3D .
4. To interact with the 3D result in AR, tap View in your space.
5. Follow the on-screen instructions.

To view 3D results and interact with them in AR, you need:

• Android phone, running Android 7 and up.
• iPhone 6s or later, running iOS 11 and up, with Safari or Chrome browser
• If you are having difficulties, Check which devices support ARCore

See below for a list of what you can search for and experience in AR using Google Search:

Land Animals	Tiger, giant panda, leopard, goat, cheetah, pony, brown bear, timber wolf, Shetland pony, python, Arabian horse, raccoon, hedgehog, and deer
Underwater & wetland animals	Mallard duck, alligator, great white shark, octopus, angler fish, and sea turtle
Birds	Macaw, emperor penguin, and eagle
House pets	Pomeranian, golden retriever, labrador, rottweiler, French bulldog, pug, and cat
Human anatomical systems	Human digestive system, respiratory system, endocrine system, female reproductive system, nervous system, lymphatic system, male reproductive system, integumentary system, excretory system, peripheral nervous system, urinary system, skeletal system, muscular system, circulatory system
Cellular structures	Mitochondrion, prokaryote, endoplasmic reticulum, bacterium, eukaryote, plant cell, rough endoplasmic reticulum, nucleolus, flagellum, cell membrane, animal cell, Golgi apparatus, ribosomes, smooth endoplasmic reticulum, chromatin, nuclear membrane, fimbria, bacterial capsule, plasmids, central vacuole, cristae, plasma membrane, cell wall, cisternae
More	Chauvet cave, Neil Armstrong, and Apollo 11 command module