Apple iPhone Keep A Tape Measure On Your iPhone

Think your iPhone won’t do it all?  The newest application, RulerPhone, turns your iPhone and its camera into a measuring tape.  Using three easy steps you can measure objects height and width.  First, place your credit-card sized card right next to or in front of the object you would like to measure. Take a picture of the object, trying to keep the credit card centered in the frame. Make sure your card and object are facing directly at the camera. Second, be sure to align the card in your photo with the blue card placeholder that RulerPhone displays on the screen. To do this you will need to zoom and drag your photo, and you can also rotate the blue card placeholder to help. It is important that you zoom the image until the card in your picture is the same size as RulerPhone’s blue card placeholder, since this is the reference that RulerPhone uses to measure objects in the frame. And third, click “Lock Card” or “Measure” to begin accurately measuring the object in your photo. Drag your finger across the screen to measure distances, and you will see a measuring tape appear across the screen. Drag the ends of the measuring tape to fine-tune your distance, and zoom the picture in and out by pinching or pulling to help you get a better view.

 

There are a few caveats to taking an accurate measurement, RulerPhone is able to take measurements up to and exceeding 10 feet with errors ranging from 0.5 to 1.5 inches when these tips are closely followed. Ensure you are measuring two-dimensional measurements only.  If your card or object being measured is angled away from the camera such that the card has depth in the picture, RulerPhone’s measurements may be inaccurate. Make sure that the camera is pointing directly at both the card and your object being measured.  Always center your card in the shot.  Although it is possible for RulerPhone to take accurate measurements when the card in your picture is significantly off-center, you will find that accuracy improves if pictures are taken with your card centered.  Place your card directly on the item being measured
If your card is placed significantly in front of or behind the item being measured, RulerPhone will not have an accurate frame of reference and your measurement may be inaccurate.  Finally, align your picture’s card with RulerPhone’s card closely.  Carefully zoom your picture until the two cards are perfectly aligned for the most accurate measurements. The alignment of these cards is where RulerPhone gets its frame of reference, and an improper alignment may result in incorrect measurements. This also explains why RulerPhone’s accuracy will continue to increase as the iPhone’s camera increases: with higher-resolution pictures, users have more control over perfectly aligning the cards.

This app is usable, and accurate, and after a few practice shots, easy to use.  The controls are astetic and seamless. For $2.99, I recommend this application if you don’t typically carry a tape measure with you, but if you are going somewhere you know you’ll be measuring something, take the tape measure.  Check out more information at http://benkamens.com/rulerphone/.