Archinect - News

Transform your phone into an augmented-reality ruler with the soon-to-be-released app AR Measure

2017-06-29T13:46:00-04:00

If you've ever wanted to measure the dimensions of a window that you can't reach physically, it's largely been a trick of algebra. However, the new AR Measure App, as developed by Laan Labs, promises to make it easy to accurately measure physical objects by simply pointing an iOS device at it. In the demo video, the app is able to instantly render the dimensions of a physical object using the existing sensors of an iPhone or iPad.

"Boat." Image: AR Measure

In a press release, Laan Labs notes that “A lot of the credit here goes to the brilliant engineers at Apple. Our app is built on top of the ARKit Framework that was announced at WWDC 2017. That framework allows us to identify points in space using the iPhones sensors and camera input and then measure the distance between those points.”

"Stool." Image: AR Measure

The demos only show the measurement of height or width of relatively flat objects, as opposed to the surface of a curvy or circular item. In practical terms, this makes th...

Home Depot sued for $5 million over "misleading" labeling of 4 x 4s

2017-06-27T19:06:00-04:00

The alleged deception: The retailers market and sell the hefty lumber as 4x4s without specifying that the boards actually measure 3½ inches by 3½ inches...The retailers say the allegations are bogus. It is common knowledge and longstanding industry practice, they say, that names such as 2x4 or 4x4 do not describe the width and thickness of those pieces of lumber.

Taking literal interpretations to a new, class-action-lawsuit extreme, a group of men are suing Home Depot and Menard's for failing to specifically label their 4 X 4s as being 3.5" X 3.5" (one can only imagine the litigious hurt and fury when these men discover that Aunt Jemima's Syrup is not made by Aunt Jemima). Even the lawyers representing the men admit that 4 X 4 is a trade name that does not literally represent the dimensions of the 4 X 4s, but make this argument instead:

“It’s difficult to say that for a reasonable consumer, when they walk into a store and they see a label that says 4x4, that that’s simply — quote unquote — a trade name,” Turin said in an interview.

Turin said his clients don’t argue that the retailers’ 4x4s (and, in the Menards case, a 1x6 board as well) are not the correct size under the standards published by the U.S. Department of Commerce. The product labels, however, should disclose that those are “nominal” designations and not actual sizes, Turin said...

Check out Bagel, the overachieving digital tape measure freshly funded on Kickstarter

2016-07-12T18:42:00-04:00

Taking and recording measurements on the fly can be tricky—getting all the right tools to measure different surfaces and distances, and having a place to scribble them down for later, can easily lead to imprecise or inefficient measurements. The mouthwateringly-named Bagel digital tape measure is trying to change that.

The Bagel looks like a basic tape measure, but can measure distances in three different modes: string, wheel, or remote. Digital measurements from these three functions can then be saved on Bagel's internal memory (along with voice memos), or transferred to the Bagel smartphone app via Bluetooth. You can charge it with a micro-USB, and the digital display makes viewing easier and less ambiguous.

Launched on Kickstarter by Bagel Labs of Newport Beach, California, the smart tape measure has already surpassed its $30,000 goal nearly 20-times over. The final prototype is ready for production, and while Bagel still needs to undergo consumer-testing for durability (how high o...