From time to time I have to do some (simple) DIY and organization work at home and I discover a reality: I don’t have a flexometer (colloquially known as a meter) at home. So normally I have to pull that mythical 30 centimeter school ruler that accompanied me until my university days. Until I realized something: The mobile camera is used to measure distances. It’s not the most precise thing in the world, but it can get you out of trouble.
And the best thing is that although it is not going to gain in precision, it is truly comfortable. point the lens and have the answer immediately on the screen like the best laser meters. So, taking advantage of an old cell phone that I had at home and that I usually use for tests, I installed a free application that has made it possible.
What is it and how does it work? Distance meter
Please note that within the Google application store there are a few applications to measure distances with your mobile, but not all of them work equally well. In the case of Distance Meter, a free app is available on Google Play Store that, if you follow the instructions to the letterreturns measurements with little error.
As soon as you install it, it logically requests the permission to access camera And I can tell you that from time to time an advertisement appears in the foreground or in the form of a banner, but it does not hinder the experience too much.
The idea is the following: use the camera to calculate the approximate distance to an object in real time thanks to augmented reality ARCore, something that can be seen by pointing the icon that appears on the screen at different things in the environment and which continually returns a length. Thus, it is capable of detecting flat surfaces (the icon changes its layout), focus light points and the movement of the mobile in space. In this sense and to be more precise, it is interesting to always have the phone at the same height and position (for example, resting it on a place or with a tripod).
To tell the truth, he is capable of determine both the distance and height of an object: for the distance you need to point at the bottom and touch the shutter that appears on the screen and for the height, point at the top and click on the shutter.
As you see, Its operation couldn’t be simpler.: you open the app in a space with good light (otherwise a warning message will appear) and choose which of the three functions you are going to use (‘distance meter’, ‘height finder’ and ‘width finder’, which comes to be the same as the second option but in another dimension) and you just have to follow the instructions on the screen.
The icing on the cake is that when you press the shutter you have the option to repeat the measurement or save the distance (by tapping on the download icon, it is stored as a photo), in case we need it later. Although the app is in Spanish, from time to time the occasional message appears in English.
It is not a meter so precise and micro as to be able to mark and make holes in a wall at a millimeter level, but yes it can get you out of trouble to know if the piece of furniture you want to place fits in a specific space.
distance meter
Use your Android phone as a laser meter
Via | The Spanish
Cover | Eva Rodríguez de Luis