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Hands-on with more educational 3D models including planets in Google Search [Video]

When Google announced a ton of new 3D animals, planets, objects and more coming to Search at I/O 2019, little did we know just how useful they would become due to a global pandemic.

Thanks to the fact that schools around the globe are closing or are already closed to help prevent the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, we are turning to the internet to ensure that lessons and learning can continue unabated.

Having access to high-poly 3D models of things like planets, body parts, and even animals within Google Search is one that will undoubtedly help pass time when locked up at home. It doubles as a powerful tool for at-home education for millions of children around the globe. If you’ve exhausted that zoo in your pocket, you might want to head to the solar system with the help of Google Search. Traverse the local planets and even get up close and personal with the moons that orbit them, all without needing a telescope.

When viewing Google Search results will feature a “View in 3D” button after the link and page description. Users can spin it and zoom in, but also view models in the real world through a “View in your space” button.

This provides every 3D object you can view within Google Search a sense of scale and detail, with users able to see “up close in relation to the things around [them].” Another fun use of this feature is models of planets, furniture, and clothing with the “View in 3D” button available from the Knowledge Panel.

Things you will need

With countries on almost entire lockdown, AR has always had a big potential for retail and shopping, with compatible product search results also featuring 3D models to preview items, like shoes. Google has worked directly with NASA, New Balance, Samsung, Target, Visible Body, Volvo, Wayfair, and others to surface 3D content in Search. Because of that, it would be impossible to list all the options available but here are a few great examples:

Of course, that is potentially just a small sample of a potentially massive online library of 3D models you can view in Google Search. Let us know if you’ve found any neat new 3D objects in Google Search, then let us know down in the comments section below.

More on Google Search:

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Avatar for Damien Wilde Damien Wilde

Damien is a UK-based video producer for 9to5Google. Find him on Twitter: @iamdamienwilde. Email: damien@9to5mac.com