Google, uh … found a way to turn your home into a prehistoric playground. In partnership with Universal Brand Development, Amblin Entertainment, and Ludia, it’s bringing 10 Jurassic World dinosaurs to Google Search. Watch as a massive T. Rex stomp through your living room, gaze at a Brachiosaurus towering over your neighbors’ trees, and live your best Ian Malcolm life with augmented reality.
Using the Google app or Google.com on iOS, Android, Chrome, or Safari, search for a dinosaur and tap “View in 3D” to introduce it to modern amenities. Use two fingers to rotate the reptile and zoom in or out to adjust its size in relation to things around you. The AR dinos available include a Tyrannosaurus Rex, Velociraptor, Triceratops, Spinosaurus, Stegosaurus, Brachiosaurus, Ankylosaurus, Dillophosaurus, Pteranodon, and Parasaurolophus.
Google teamed up with mobile video game maker Ludia and Steven Spielberg’s production company Amblin Entertainment to bring the dinosaurs to life. “To create the 3D dinosaurs, our concept artists first did preliminary research to discover information about each creature,” Camilo Sanin, Ludia’s lead on character creations, said in a statement.
“Not only did we draw research from various forms of literature, our artists also worked with paleontologists and the Jurassic World team to make the assets as accurate and realistic as possible,” he continued. “Even the smallest of details, such as irregularities of skin color and patterns, are important.”
Unlike lions or tigers or bears, augmented reality dinosaurs pose a unique technical challenge due to their massive size. The auto-scale feature on Android lets you calculate the distance between your phone and a surface in your space and resize the creature to fit on your screen. Tap “View actual size” to watch one of these dinosaurs grow. Android users can also turn up the volume to hear thudding footsteps and dinosaur roars.
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment and Facebook in 2018 launched a similar augmented reality experience to promote the DVD release of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom: Fans were encouraged to scan a QR code on in-store displays to trigger an up-close encounter with an Indoraptor.
Jurassic World: Dominion—the third installment of Amblin Entertainment’s reboot series—is expected to hit theaters in June 2021. Bryce Dallas Howard, Chris Pratt, Jeff Goldblum, Laura Dern, and Sam Neill will reprise their roles as Claire Dearing, Owen Grady, Ian Malcolm, Ellie Sattler, and Alan Grant, respectively.
