ARCore – Page 2 – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

July 12, 2019

Minecraft Earth Beta Coming To iOS This Month, Android ‘Soon’ After

Minecraft Earth, an all-new mobile AR version of the global sensation sandbox building and survival game, is coming to iOS later this month and Android “soon thereafter” according to the official blog.

We first heard about Minecraft Earth about two months ago in mid-May when developers Mojang released an announcement trailer and then last month debuted actual gameplay for the very first time. Now, they’ve got a brand new beta announcement video that goes over more details regarding the game’s mechanics and gameplay:

Basically you’re presented with an overworld map that looks strikingly similar to Pokemon Go, complete with a Minecraft-style block avatar complete with skins. It uses the actual world map to create the environment. You walk around and tap on items like animals and blocks to collect them. Naturally, they’re called “tappables” in Minecraft Earth.

Once you collect enough tappables, you level up and once you have enough resources you can build things that are placed into the real world from your phone screen. It’s described as a “living, breathing” Minecraft world. It includes multiplayer seamlessly integrated where people can help “or hinder” your creations. Then you can scale creations to life-size to explore and see in the world around you.

minecraft earth gameplay

I haven’t tried it yet, but honestly, it looks impressive.

The limited iOS beta for Minecraft Earth is due out within the next two weeks, which means sometime before July 26th. Only a “limited number of players in a few select cities” will be chosen before a wider release this summer.

You can sign up for a chance to be selected in the closed beta right here and check out the main website for more details as they’re available.

h/t: Engadget

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May 15, 2019

Novelis Augmented Reality Sales Tool

Augmented Reality Sales Tool

Novelis recently engaged Zugara to develop an Augmented Reality mobile app that could help act as an interactive sales tool for Novelis’ product team. The AR experience needed to help communicate the product features and attributes for Novelis’ new aluminum battery enclosure for electric vehicles. AR was utilized within the mobile app to enhance product demonstrations on multiple fronts:

An augmented reality product demonstration showed the battery enclosure in both an enclosed and expanded view. Different sub part features could be selected and viewed in a real world environment (pictured above).
The AR presentation of the product could be scaled for a full-size product demonstration in a factory or reduced for display on a conference room table during a board room presentation.
Different product features (including chemical compositions) were selectable and viewable in AR mode. In addition, we developed 3D viewable data that could assist engineers with viewing data in AR while also viewing specific product sub part information.
A product assembly presentation was also developed in Augmented Reality view to show how the battery enclosure was assembled in a step by step process.

“Novelis consistently seeks new, innovative ways to engage with our customers when it comes to marketing our products,” said Nick Dzierzak, Electric Vehicle Business Development Manager, Novelis Global Automotive Team. “Augmented Reality helps improve the interaction and engagement with our customers by offering our sales & technical teams a new way to present our products and material data and can be used anywhere and anytime in true to life detail and form. The Zugara Team was great to work with and helped explain how both Augmented Reality and Mixed Reality could be utilized both with our mobile application and within our organization.”

You can view a demonstration of the Novelis Augmented Reality Sales Tool in the embedded video below or on YouTube here. You can also view an Image Gallery at the end of this blog post.

The mobile AR experience was developed for smartphone and tablet devices with corresponding ARKit (Apple) and ARCore (Android) functionality.

You can view other AR apps Zugara has developed for our clients in our Augmented Reality Projects section. We’re also happy to help you build you next Augmented Reality experience so please feel free to Contact Us if you have any questions on Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality or Zugara.

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May 9, 2019

Google Daydream am Ende: Ist der Traum geplatzt?

Lange war es still um das Daydream-Projekt von Google und auch die Google I/O Konferenz konnte in dieser Woche das Blatt nicht wenden. Kehrt Google der Virtual Reality den Rücken?

Google Daydream: Ist der Traum geplatzt?

Im letzten Jahr erschien mit der Mirage Solo von Lenovo eine autarke VR-Brille, doch weitere Produkte oder Innovationen blieben in den letzten Monaten aus. Die Mischung aus 6-DOF-Brille und 3-DOF-Controller ist durch die Oculus Quest und die Vive Focus Plus heute nicht mehr Konkurrenzfähig, doch Google scheint die VR-Pläne auch nicht mehr aktiv zu verfolgen. Deshalb gibt es 6-DOF-Controller für die Mirage Solo auch nur für Entwickler und Google beschreibt das Kit für Entwickler nun auch als AR-Dev-Kit, da der Passthrough-Modus auch die Entwicklung von AR-Inhalten ermöglicht.

Selbst auf der Keynote der Google I/O Konferenz war Daydream kein Thema und auch auf der Ausstellung der aktuellen Produkte fehlte Virtual Reality Hardware. Zudem wird das neue Pixel 3a Daydream nicht unterstützen. Dafür machte Google deutlich, wie wichtig die Augmented Reality für das Unternehmen sei.

Google hat das Potential, durch seine gesammelten Daten und aktuellen Programme, fantastische Augmented-Reality-Inhalte zu schaffen. So kündigte das Unternehmen beispielsweise eine AR-Navigation für Google Maps an, welche zunächst auf den Pixel-Smartphones von Google verfügbar sein wird.

Was haltet ihr von Daydream und glaubt ihr, dass Google das Projekt irgendwann wieder auf die große Bühne holen wird?

(Quelle: Road to VR, Upload VR)

Der Beitrag Google Daydream am Ende: Ist der Traum geplatzt? zuerst gesehen auf VR∙Nerds. VR·Nerds am Werk!

April 30, 2019

AR Shooter Reality Clash Hits UK and Western Europe

After several years of development, the Reality Gaming Group began a phased global rollout of its augmented reality (AR) combat experience Reality Clash in January. Australia, New Zealand and Denmark were the first countries to see the title arrive, and now that support has widened to the UK and Western Europe.

Reality Clash

Set in an underground world of cryptocurrencies and hackers, Reality Clash features geo-location technology that’s become common in mobile AR videogames – with the aim of getting players out the house. Built using the latest ARKit and ARCore technology from Apple and Google, players are able to compete in real-time first-person shooter (FPS) battles with their friends or bots.

Players have to navigate a 3D map to defend key parts of their own real-world town, city or village; these fights can be team-based, made up of 200 people. When not in combat they’ll need to mine for resources, build new weapons or customise the ones they already have.

“We’re thrilled to make Reality Clash available in the UK and Western Europe,” said Reality Gaming Group’s Co-Founder Tony Pearce in a statement. “Reality Clash offers gamers a whole new way to experience the FPS genre, with exciting geo-location and mining features and an AR interface that doesn’t require clunky add-ons or equipment. Let battle commerce!”

Reality Clash

While the core gameplay revolves around local battles between players, Reality Clash also features a Quick Battle mode if nobody can be found nearby. Players can instantly challenge anyone in different parts of the world and they’ll both be beamed into the same virtual arena to duel it out.

Apart from the previously mentioned territories Reality Clash is also available in The Philippines, Vietnam, Russia and Brazil, with the US to follow (the studio hasn’t confirmed when). The combat title is free to download on AR compatible Android and iOS devices.

In other AR news, those on Apple devices can now play Angry Birds AR: Isle of Pigs, which Rovio Entertainment and Resolution Games announced yesterday and is also free of charge.

VRFocus will continue to report on the latest Reality Clash announcements as the title expands to more locations worldwide.

March 19, 2019

Make ARKit and ARCore Development Easier With Unity AR Foundation

When Apple and then Google launched their augmented reality (AR) development software ARKit and ARCore respectively, they provided a perfect avenue for creators to build immersive AR apps and videogames for mobile devices. But just like the Khronos Group is trying to solve with the issue of fragmentation using OpenXR, having both ARKit and ARCore meant more work for developers trying to support both. During the recent Unity keynote at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2019, the videogame engine company has a solution, AR Foundation.

Angry Birds AR Structure Destroyed

While devices like Magic Leap and HoloLens might be pushing the upper reaches of AR technology, some of the most interesting work is being done at a consumer level on mobile devices. Yet creators generally have to choose whether to focus on ARKit or ARCore. Which is why Unity created the AR Foundation framework, specifically for AR content developers, allowing them to build an AR app and then deploy it to both ARKit and ARCore.

AR Foundation also includes features to overcome common problems such as anchoring digital objects into the real world and the visual fidelity of digital objects. One of the options Unity focused on was AR Remote: “it significantly reduces iteration time by streaming sensor data from an AR-enabled mobile device directly into the Unity editor, explains a blog posting. “This allows developers to see changes on their target device in real time without having to publish to the device.

As AR Foundation is part of Unity, veterans of the software will feel right at home using its workflows and features to create AR content. They can even use the assets built for non-AR titles and use them in their new AR project.

Tendar

Unity is one of the most popular engines for virtual reality (VR) and AR development, supporting the industry from an early stage. Unity CEO John Riccitiello has previously claimed that around two-thirds of all VR and AR apps on the market were built using Unity.

As Unity continues to expand and introduce more features for VR and AR development, VRFocus will keep you updated.

February 8, 2019

Dance Along In AR With Childish Gambino On Pixel Phones

Google’s AR Playground now includes a set of characters showcasing Childish Gambino dance moves.

Pixel phone owners can use Playground and their phone’s camera to add interactive characters to their environment called Playmoji. A new set available today features Donald Glover aka Childish Gambino dancing to “Redbone,” “Summertime Magic” and “This is America.”

The character reacts to facial expressions too. So if you take a selfie with the character, it should respond. The project joins a series of partnerships and experiments from Google as the company explores the AR and VR space. Previous AR partnerships from Google include similar treatments for Star Wars and Stranger Things characters.

Google is encouraging Pixel owners to use the hashtag #pixeldanceoff for videos showing people dancing with the virtual character. The below video from Google previewing the feature shows how it represents Gambino’s signature moves.

Pixel phones aren’t the most popular devices on the market so these kinds of videos are unlikely to become a viral sensation. Nonetheless, you can see in the video how well the moves are represented on the digital character and how well Google’s AR software inserts the character into the scene.

We’re expecting a big year ahead from Google with Google I/O happening May 7 to 9. The event is likely to showcase next steps in AR and VR from the technology giant. Late last year, the company started seeding new VR controller kits to developers which add more intuitive input to the Daydream platform.

Tagged with: ARCore, Childish Gambino, google

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February 5, 2019

ARCore Mercedes-Benz Automotive Prototype

As both Apple’s ARKit and Google’s ARCore technologies have helped bring Augmented Reality to the mainstream, we’ve been developing a few ARKit and ARCore proof of concepts and prototypes for clients that show how this new mobile technology can be utilized. The latest example we wanted to share is an ARCore proof of concept showing how a virtual Mercedes-Benz can be interacted with by a potential customer. A video of the ARCore experience, which is embedded below or you can view here, shows how every element of the 3D vehicle can be viewed and explored.

Now imagine how a potential customer could receive a concept vehicle or soon to be released auto delivered to them virtually. There’s a multitude of advertising and marketing opportunities with ARKit and ARCore mobile Augmented Reality technology – especially when you can integrate geolocation and/or geofencing into the experience.

If you have any questions related to ARKit, ARCore or SLAM-based AR technology in general, feel free to contact us. We’re happy to answer any questions you might have!

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January 28, 2019

Google I/O 2019 Developer Conference Set For May

We’re coming up to developer conference season once again, and Google’s now dated I/O’s 2019 return.

The event will take place at the Shoreline Amphitheatre on May 7th – 9th. CEO Sundar Pichai confirmed the news via a tweet late last week. That just leaves us to speculate what will be announced at the show.

Glad the transmission was received:) See you at Shoreline Amphitheatre May 7-9 for this year’s I/O! #io19 pic.twitter.com/CXWpQR4Eza

— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) January 25, 2019

I/O will no doubt be a curious event for VR and AR. Google didn’t even mention the former at last year’s show despite launching its Lenovo Mirage Solo Daydream headset around it. AR continues to be an area of interest for the company as it grows its ARCore platform, though. Expect to see plenty of AR workshops and panels at the very least.

As for VR, it is possible we get some Daydream updates. We’re mostly interested to see if the six degrees of freedom (6DOF) controllers being sent out to developers get turned into an official product. We’re also wondering if there might be any new Daydream hardware or apps to talk about. Otherwise, you can expect the usual Android updates and more from the show.

I/O won’t be the only major developer conference in May. Facebook’s F8 event gets underway on April 30th and wraps up on May 1st. We’re expecting a fair bit more on the VR side from that one, including launch information for Oculus Quest.

UploadVR will, of course, be covering the show in full. Check back for the latest updates.

Tagged with: ARCore, Daydream, google, Google I/O

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January 17, 2019

Mobile AR Combat Game Reality Clash Begins Phased Global Rollout

Niantic’s Pokemon GO might be seen as the poster child for augmented reality (AR) videogames on mobile, but there are plenty of other looking to usurp the title from its podium. Today, Reality Gaming Group has announced the long-awaited arrival of its more ambitious combat experience, Reality Clash, for iOS and Android devices.

Reality Clash

Using Apple and Google’s latest ARKit and ARCore technologies, Reality Clash is set in an underground world of cryptocurrencies and hackers, where players can navigate a 3D map to defend key parts of their own real-world town, city or village competing in real-time battles, mine for resources, and build or customise unique guns.

Fights can be team-based, made up of 200 people, or if no players are nearby then a user is able to engage in combat with bot players which are scattered across the map for continuous gameplay opportunities.

“After months of development, our pioneering new game is literally a Reality,” said Reality Gaming Group’s Co-Founder Tony Pearce. “We’ve had thousands of Beta testers providing us with feedback and we’re delighted that we have a game in Reality Clash that is as fun and engaging as it is technically advanced.

“Australia, New Zealand and Denmark are the first territories to see the game go live, and we’ll be rolling out Reality Clash internationally shortly. Let the battles commence!”

Reality Clash

VRFocus has been following Reality Clash for a while now, to the extent that over the course of 2017/18, the team produced a series of developer diaries for the site, documenting what the team was working on and what features players could expect to see in today’s launch.

As mentioned, Australia, New Zealand and Denmark will be the first territories to see Reality Clash, with more features and territories to be added on a monthly basis. This is likely to avoid some of the issues Pokemon GO faced when it initially launched, seeing widespread server issues that made the videogame almost unplayable for many weeks.

As further countries are announced and Reality Clash begins to expand its user base, VRFocus will bring you all the latest updates for the title.

December 7, 2018

New Startup Artie Wants to Bring AI-driven Avatars to Augmented Reality

Former Felix & Paul chief content officer Ryan Horrigan and former Milk VR and VRSE.works producer Armando Kirwi have banded together to found Artie, a new startup with the mission of bringing AI avatars to augmented reality.

In the video below, you can see a bulbous little avatar named ‘Moke’ responding to voice commands and doing the Moonwalk, Makarena, or YMCA dance.

But what’s especially interesting is the little assistant ‘Winnie’, which uses machine learning to recognize what you’re looking at in real-time, be it a friend smiling ear-to-ear, or a Coke can on your desk.

“With Artie’s deep-learning insights and analytics platform, creators can monitor engagement with their avatars in real-time,” the company says in a press statement. “The platform also captures user behaviors to drive neural networks that automatically train and improve an avatar’s performance over time, enabling more entertaining and lifelike interactions for each subsequent user.”

The company tells Variety their software is capable of detecting seven prime emotions based on facial expressions, which Artie says should expand to 30 emotions in the coming months. The little purple onion-guy Winnie can only detect 80 objects at the moment, but that’s also a number that’s sure to grow in the near future.

“VR and AR are the first media where you can be part of the story,” Horrigan tells Variety. “But you can’t talk to characters. You can’t have human interactions with characters. We felt this was a big problem.” And it’s a problem the company wants to address on a pretty large scale—not by just creating their own avatars and throwing them on Google Play or Apple’s App Store willy nilly.

“Right now, AR experiences are stuck in the App Store,” said Horrigan. “The distribution angle needs to change to really see meaningful discovery and shareability and thus virality.”

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Google Daydream: Ist der Traum geplatzt?

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