VisualRuler
Turn your iPhone into a functional ruler
$1.99 Developer Altaibayar Tseveenbayar, visualrulerapp.com Platform iPhone Requirements iOS 9 or later
How many times have you needed to quickly measure something, only to find you didn’t have a measuring tape on hand? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. That’s where VisualRuler comes in – it’s a handy app that turns your iPhone’s camera into a functional ruler.
To use VisualRuler, you’ll have to place a credit card (or any card at the same standardized size of one) near the object you want to measure. The app should automatically recognize the card.
You can then trace around the object you want to measure, using preset shapes or connected lines. Because it knows the size of the card, the app can do some quick math to figure out the size of the object you want to measure. It’s a relatively fast process and can be used by kids and adults.
It’s worth noting that VisualRuler doesn’t store any of the information in the images you take, but we suggest using a gift card rather than a credit card if you’re worried.
There are some limitations with VisualRuler that we should be clear about. The app can only measure in the 2D visual plane and doesn’t handle perspective distortion terribly well. It also can’t measure large objects well, as the credit card needs to be somewhat comparable in size. Ultimately it’s never going to be as precise as a real ruler, but VisualRuler will help you estimate the size of objects easier and more accurately than eyeballing them.
the bottom line. Endlessly useful for those times where you need to know the (approximate) size of something without wanting to find measuring tape or a ruler. Amber Neely