View a variety of bugs on your desk with Google’s latest additions to its 3D AR search

Google has been slowly adding more and more creatures to its growing library of 3D rendered objects you can view in AR (augmented reality) via the Google app. These objects are interactive and built to scale, so if you’d like a full-sized 3D lion in your living room, for instance, you can simply search for ‘lion’ with Google, click on the ‘View in 3D’ card that appears, and you’ll then have the option to view it in your space.

The tech being used here isn’t new by any stretch and we’ve talked about this exact service in the past, so I won’t go into all that again. Just know that these 3D models are really fun to play with and give you the ability to walk around animals in space and achieve a closeness to them that you customarily wouldn’t be able to in the real world.

Bugs are a perfect fit

Bugs, for many people, are the type of things you may be a bit inetersted to see up close but simply don’t have the constitution for. For most humans, the idea of getting up close and personal with a massive beetle isn’t the most inviting experience. Some insects bite, sting, or fly and the thought of any of those things happening while we are nose-to-nose with a big bug is a bit unsettling for many of us.

With Google’s latest additions to its 3D AR creature catalog, you can now check out 23 different insects up close and personal, right in your home or wherever you happen to be. Simply fire up a Google search from Chrome, the Google app, or in Discover and run a query for:

rhinoceros beetle, Hercules beetle, Atlas beetle, stag beetle, giant stag, Miyama stag beetle, shining ball scarab beetle, jewel beetle, ladybug, firefly, Rosalia batesi, swallowtail butterfly, morpho butterfly, atlas moth, mantis, grasshopper, dragonfly, hornet, robust cicada, brown cicada, periodical cicada, Walker’s cicada, or evening cicada.

thanks to The Verge for this list

Any of these results will include a special card that shows the insect and an invitation to view it in 3D. We put a few through the paces and got a close look with a few bugs that, if I’m honest, I wouldn’t get withing 5 feet of in the real world. Dropping some of these right on a desk and snagging a photo is also a pretty fun trick and will be a guaranteed good time if you have kids around. The insects join the dinosaurs, cats, scorpions, bears, tigers, lions and more that Google has in place for the app at this point. As long as you have an Android phone or iPhone that supports AR, you can try this all out right now in the Google app. Have fun!

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