Occipital releases new AR app for interior designers

Adds to Occipital's line of products and services for home improvements and DIYers

Augmented reality is for more than just "catching them all," and companies are finally starting to implement the AR tech into services that have some real world uses. Occipital is one such company. Headquartered in Boulder, Colorado and founded in 2008, the company focuses on providing software and hardware for mobile vision applications. Basically, they make things that make it easier to map rooms and spaces for home improvements and other interior design related projects.

While most of their past work has focused on bettering their Structure Sensor that attaches to iPads, their newest release is a software only app for iPhones that can quickly scan a room and provide accurate measurements, as well as some additional features. The service, called TapMeasure, is a spatial utility that uses computer vision and AR to accomplish these tasks.

With TapMeasure, users can quickly scan a room and provide accurate 2D floor plans that can be used to set up plans for the space quickly, lowering the timely process of measuring every little nook and cranny before truly starting on the project. In addition to 2D plans, the service will also build high quality 3D models that can be exported to SketchUp, a 3D computer modeling service used by engineers, those in architecture, and interior designers. 

There is also a "quick measure" tool that lets you quickly measure a wall or surface and another feature called "smart level." The smart level is actually really cool and allows you to make sure pictures and other wall installations are completely level. You can do this on the fly and TapMeasure will let you know when you reach the sweet spot.

While the majority of features might not be for everyone, if you're a professional interior design or even just weekend DIYer and enjoy creating new spaces within your home, TapMeasure has a lot to offer, without having to buy special cameras or expensive software.