Today the push for augmented reality (AR) advancement took another step with Google announcing ARCore, its version of Apple’s ARKit which released a short while back. Just like its rival, Google has ensured support from some of the biggest middleware companies, with Epic Games and Unreal Engine 4 officially supporting ARCore.
With the launch of ARCore’s preview today, developers will now be able to start creating AR experiences millions of Android users across the world. And for those who’re used to Unreal Engine, that means the knowledge they already have can now be utilised.
While today’s release is merely an early access look at ARCore, downloaded through GitHub, when Epic Games release Unreal Engine 4.18 in mid-October, the update will include deeper support for the AR software.
“Augmented reality is the next step in the evolution of the smartphone, and Unreal Engine developers are already hard at work on great AR experiences. ARCore will help further drive AR adoption by empowering developers to build and ship cross-platform AR experiences. We encourage the Unreal community to check out today’s early access Unreal Engine 4 support for ARCore on GitHub as well as the preview coming in Unreal Engine 4.18,” said Mark Rein, Co-Founder and Vice President, Epic Games in a statement.
Today’s ARCore SDK release supports the Google Pixel, Pixel XL, and the Samsung Galaxy S8 running Android 7.0 Nougat and above. By mid-October expect that to have been expanded.
As Epic Games release further details about Unreal Engine’s ARCore support, VRFocus will let you know.