Since the announcement of Apple’s augmented reality (AR) app ARKit more and more developers have been showcasing their creations. Earlier this week Luden.io revealed the first alpha footage of its project ARrived, a god like simulator. Now VRFocus has some concept art for you to look at, detailing the some of the environments and characters.
Most of the artwork can be seen in the alpha footage, with the various tribes people who’ll look up to players for guidance when building their civilisation.
From bearded guys with clubs and shamans, to levels with waterfalls a nighttime scenes with fireflies dancing around, these concept ideas give a good understanding of how the videogame has grown and progressed.
VRFocus will continue its coverage of Luden.io and ARrived, reporting back with further updates.
Ausnahmsweise mal kein AppleARKit oder GoogleTango, sondern eine Eigenentwicklung: Die App Vortex Ball ist ab sofort kostenlos für Android und iOS erhältlich. In dem Augmented-Reality-Showcase setzt man in der realen Welt Vortex-Portale und kann andere Spieler herausfordern, die eigene Arena zu erobern und von Roboter-Spinnen zu säubern. Fast noch interessanter als der Titel an sich ist allerdings die Technik hinter der App. Der Entwickler Sturfee behauptet, eine bessere AR-Lösung als Google und Apple entwickelt zu haben.
Vortex Ball: Eigene AR-Engine gegen Tango und ARKit
Mit Vortex Ball steht ein Augmented-Reality-Titel für Android und iOS bereit, der nicht auf Googles Tango oder ApplesARKit zurückgreift. Das Start-up Sturfee aus Santa Clara hat hingegen eine eigene Augmented-Reality-Engine entwickelt. Sie soll leistungsfähiger sein als das ARKit von Apple, das die Umgebung nicht tatsächlich erkennt. Im Gegensatz dazu könne die eigene Entwicklung Straßen, Gebäude und Kanten in Echtzeit erkennen, erklärt Matthew Lee von Sturfee. Die Spinnen in Vortex Ball könnten also klettern und sich an den realen Objekten in der Szene ausrichten. Der CEO Anil Cheriyadat erklärt dazu: „Die 3D-Geometrie der Umgebung akkurat zu erkennen ist der Schlüssel zu lokal basierten AR-Erfahrungen.“ So könne man digitale Informationen nicht nur an einem spezifischen Punkt einblenden, sondern auch digitale Objekte mit der realen Umgebung interagieren lassen.
Der CEO erläutert auch die Unterschiede zwischen ARKit und Tango und der eigenen Lösung: Googles und Apples AR-Engines erkennen demnach lediglich stückweise die Umgebung, wenn der Anwender sich bewegt. Außerdem sei die Tiefenerkennung der Konkurrenz limitiert. Cheriyadat : „Stell dir vor, du hältst dein Samrtphone hoch und siehst sofort Spinnen die Wände hochklettern, Aliens, die Gebäude in die Luft jagen, oder Charaktere, die versuchen, sich hinter Bäumen zu verstecken.“
Eine Kleinigkeit stört allerdings dann doch das Vergnügen: Die Mixed-Reality-Funktion ist derzeit auf San Francisco und San Jose beschränkt.
Ever since the release of Apple’s ARKit platform, ARKit developers have been creating some amazing ARKit apps. Just in the last month we have seen everything from a variety of ARKit inter-dimensional portals, to ARKit measuring tools and an ARKit Pac-man recreation. With ARKit as part of iOS 11 and projected to be released with the iPhone 8, we’ll likely see even more creative demos over the coming months. The iOS ecosystem is ripe for ARKit disruption as ARKit developers will be looking at a projected 505 Million ARKit supported devices by the end of 2017.
With the explosion on ARKit apps, we wanted to highlight a few of the better examples of ARKit being deployed by ARKit developers. You can find most of these ARKit examples on YouTube or on the Facebook Augmented Reality community. At Zugara, we have also been experimenting with ARKit and will be releasing some demos publicly soon.
Listed below, in no specific order, are some of the better ARKit apps we’ve seen created by ARKit developers over the last month. Think of this as a living list of ARKit apps as we’ll continue to add any new and exciting ARKit examples as we see them.
ARKit Portals
There have been a variety of different ARKit “Portals” released by ARKit developers but the 3 best we’ve seen to date are the original ARKit inter-dimensional portal by @Nedd, ARKit A-Ha Music video and ARKit portal on the floor. ARKit inter-dimensional portal and ARKit A-Ha Music Video are embedded below and you can find the ARKit portal on the floor video here.
ARKit Games
2 of the more impressive examples of using ARKit for games utilize different methods. The first is the ARKit game by Alpha.io which utilizes the iPhone’s accelerometer and gyroscope for interaction with Augmented Reality objects positioned with ARKit. The second method is more location-based where your environment turns into an interactive game with this ARKit Pac-man recreation.
ARKit 3D Object Placement & Interaction
ARKit has also been used in more straightforward ways (similar to SLAM) where 3D Augmented Reality objects are positioned and stabilized in the real-world environment. This method is similar to what was typically used with markers and image recognition to place and view Augmented Reality info. A few of the better examples of using SLAM-like functionality with ARKit include iPhone object product placement, an ARKit virtual tour of Van Gogh’s bedroom, and ARKit used to place and view a dancing robot.
As we mentioned earlier, a new ARKit app is released by an ARKit developer almost every day. We’ll continue to update this post with latest ARKit examples and you can also view latest ARKit news and apps at the Facebook Augmented Reality page.
Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) have already convinced a great many people of the potential underlying these new technologies. Both VR and AR can have a significant impact on both individuals and society as a whole, fundamentally challenging what is seen as the norm today in the same way that the smartphone, television or printing press have previously done. All it takes is software developers using the hardware to strive for something new.
Despite this however, it seems that those with early access to the technology are being hemmed-in by a fear of the unknown. It’s commonly thought that entertainment will drive the way for both immersive mediums, and this is largely to do with the early adopters coming from a videogame standpoint. However, there’s much more to both AR and VR than shooting bad guys and journeying through space; with many avenues almost completely unexplored.
Below VRFocus has highlighted just a few of the areas in which immersive technologies such as AR and VR can have a genuine impact on the way we lead our daily lives, each of which are currently only being explored to a very limited degree.
Education
Education is perhaps one of the easiest avenues of opportunities for consumers to understand the positive impact of AR and VR. Being able to place children into a space that even today they’re reliant on textbooks in order to learn about could be revolutionary for the understanding of ancient civilisations, human biology or different cultures. There are a number of applications that offer this kind of experience already – Unimersiv and Curiscope’s Virtuali-Tee being just two examples – but still the adoption rate of these technologies by schools and private organisations fails to instigate any kind of recognisable demand.
Perhaps AR and VR need to stabilise their hardware offerings before such institutions – especially those reliant on government funding – will invest. Spending a significant amount of budget on technology that will be outdated within a year is not considered a wise move; at the same time however, there needs to be an end user to warrant a developer to produce such software.
Healthcare
There have been a number of VR and AR applications developed specifically to assist exercise, with the likes of VirZOOM offering an immediate solution and San Fransisco based RE:NEW collating workout applications in a handy portal. However, there’s far more to AR and VR then simply working out; the possibility to learn what types of exercise would be good for you as an individual and exactly how to perform routines you may not be familiar with is arguably a greater good.
Generic workout activities such as riding a bike and running are all well-and-good, but a more personally tailored solution would benefit far more people without the need of a gym subscription or the potential intimidation of hiring a personal trainer.
Nutrition
Arguably a culmination of what both education and healthcare could offer, an insight into what people eat that reaches further than the back of a plastic packet designed by the manufacturer would certainly be of use. It’s all too common for food to be misrepresented by advertisements and packaging, and that which is proposed as a ‘healthy’ snack could be anything but. An AR application that gets to the root of a product, building on the basics seen in applications such as Fruitness AR by analysing the ingredients and their quantities – plus any additives, preservatives, colouring agents or flavourings – would be a simple application to develop and could well offer people a more open and honest discussion about the food we find on supermarket shelves.
Videogames
In the introduction of this article I stated that AR and VR could be more ‘than shooting bad guys and journeying through space’. This is true, but also so is the importance of release. The daily lives of many people across the globe are enriched by entertainment – be it socialising, escapism or something in between – and both AR and VR have the opportunity to revolutionise the ways in which we do this.
It’s arguably here that immersive technologies have made their biggest plays so far. Applications like Facebook Spaces and vTime have made small but noticeable pushes towards socialising in a virtual space, whilst the likes of Pokemon Go and Tilt Brush have offered entertainment experiences unlike anything that’s gone before. But these are the exception and not the rule. Developers need to start striving to achieve new forms of entertainment in AR and VR now, opposed to just adapting the mechanics from videogames and movies into a new format.
Image Credit: mygaming.co.za
Sex
What role could AR or VR play in sex? Well, aside from the many adult entertainment applications already available – ranging from pornography to ‘waifu simulators’ – there’s actually room for a more collaborative interpretation.
Along the lines of education, though strictly targeted at adults of course, an AR application that would help define sensitive parts of the body and erogenous zones would take a great deal of the trial-and-error out of attempting to please your partner (or partners, if you’re so inclined) removing several layers of potential embarrassment; from that of education during youth to performance anxiety. Furthermore, this would give people the ability to share with their lover (or, again, lovers) intimate details of what they as individuals find pleasing opposed to a textbook assignation of a pleasure area. After all, everyone is different, and an AR application designed for individuality will bring far greater enjoyment than a one-size-fits-all interpretation.
Googles Tango und vor allem Apples ARKit dürften Augmented Reality auf dem Smartphone die nächste Zeit vorantreiben. Allerdings sind die grafischen Möglichkeiten auf der mobilen Hardware beschränkt. Hier sollen Entwicklungen von Octosense sichtbare Verbesserungen bringen. Die Firma verspricht, durch ihr entwickeltes Echtzeit-Shading AR-Inhalte in einer Qualität darstellen zu können, wie man sie in der aktuellen Konsolen-Generation findet.
Octosense verspricht superbe AR-Grafikqualität auf Smartphones
Deve Ouazanan, der CEO von Octosense, spricht von einem erstaunlichen Fortschritt, den sein Team im AR-Bereich gemacht habe. Man sei auf dem Weg, den ersten realistischen digitalen persönlichen Assistenten zu entwickeln und er spricht von der nächsten Generation der Mixed Reality, die man derzeit in der Mache habe.
Einen wichtigen Schritt zum realistischeren AR-System auf mobiler Hardware hat laut VRFocus das Unternehmen mit seinem Echtzeit-Shading-Produkt unternommen. Das jetzt erhältliche System soll es erlauben, auf bestehender Smartphone-Hardware realistisch aussehende AR- und MR-Inhalte in Echtzeit darzustellen. Der Detailreichtum soll sogar an Grafiken von Desktop-PCs und aktuellen Konsolen heranreichen. Dabei soll die Lösung von Octosense bei 3D-Augmented-Reality-Inhalten weniger Rechenleistung als heute typische 3D-Grafik auf Smartphones benötigen.
Tracking-Lösung mit nur einer Kamera
Eine zweite Technologie von Octosense ist ein Tracking-System, das ohne Marker auskommt. Zudem benötigt die Lösung nicht unbedingt eine zweite Kamera für die Tiefeninformationen, sondern soll auch mit einer einzelnen üblichen Smartphone-Kamera gute Ergebnisse liefern. Das Tracking kann die Bewegung des Smartphones sowie passende Bereiche erkennen. Somit lassen sich Objekte festpinnen und die Software kann die Illusion erwecken, dass AR-Inhalte dynamisch auf die Umwelt reagieren. Neu ist das allerdings nicht, Apples ARKit beherrscht den gleichen Trick. Ob die Lösung von Octosense noch eine Schippe auf ARKit drauflegen kann, muss derzeit offen bleiben.
Das System ist kompatibel mit Windows, Android und iOS, außerdem unterstützt Octosense die Entwicklerplattformen Unity und die Unreal Engine. Einen Preis für die Lösung nennt das Unternehmen auf seiner Webseite nicht.
Last month VRobot developer revealed its first early results of using Apple’s ARKit, showcasing a god simulator called AR Tribe. Well today the studio has unveiled further details about what it’s been up to over the last few weeks, with a new video showcasing the title in alpha form as well as a new name, ARrived.
As you can see from the video below, ARrived looks a lot more polished than its predecessor, with the graphic and lighting greatly improved – there’s even a day/night cycle where fireflies appear. The characters also respond to where the player is, turning their heads and waving no matter where they move to.
ARrived is a god simulator where players have to look after and guide their tribe, just this time it’s using AR, so these digital folks are in the real-world as well. The videogame will allow players to choose from a range of options to improve the prosperity of their tribe whilst at the same time the tribe comes to them for advice.
As it’s still in early development the team hasn’t yet stated when ARrived will be launching. As ever, VRFocus will continue its coverage of Luden.io, reporting back with further updates.
Epic Games hat die Spiele-Entwicklungsumgebung Unreal Engine in der Version 4.17 freigegeben. Sie enthält zahlreiche Neuerungen und Überarbeitungen. Beispielsweise unterstützt die Engine nun direkt Apples ARKit. Der Spectator Screen für PSVR, Oculus Rift und HTC Vive ermöglicht es, gleichzeitig Spieler in VR und am TV oder Monitor zu beschäftigen. Zudem spendiert Epic Games seiner Entwicklungsumgebung die VR Mode Camera Previews.
Unreal Engine mit ARKit-Suport und Spectator Screen
Apples ARKitbegeistert die Entwickler: Ab Veröffentlichung von iOS 11 im Herbst sollen je nach Schätzung rund 300 Millionen Anwender auf einen Schlag mit ihren iPhones und iPads die mit dem Tool entwickelten Augmented-Reality-Apps nutzen können. Bereits auf Apples Pressekonferenz konnte man eine beeindruckende Demo von Wingnut AR begutachten. Kopf des AR-Start-ups ist der Regisseur Peter Jackson, der nach Erfolgen mit schrägen Horrorfilmen einem breiten Publikum durch die Verfilmung von Der Herr der Ringe bekannt wurde. Der Code von Wingnuts AR hat es denn auch ermöglicht, das Plug-in für die Unreal Engine zu entwickeln.
The Spectator Screen: Multiplayer in und außerhalb VR
Neuigkeiten gibt es auch für Spieleentwickler für die PSVR, HTC Vive und Oculus Rift. Der Spectator Screen ermöglicht es, bei Multiplayer-Sessions VR-Headsets und normale Monitore oder TVs zu mischen. Die PlayStation VR (PSVR ) beherrschte das schon zu Beginn, die Unreal Engine unterstützt aber ebenfalls den Modus für die Sony-Konsole. Dabei können zusätzliche Spieler auf dem Monitor entweder nur zuschauen oder selbst aktiv werden. Umgekehrt lässt sich das Headset ausschalten und die Erfahrung nur auf 2D ausgeben.
Die dritte große VR-Neuerung im Bunde sind die VR Mode Camera Previews. Dabei können Entwickler eine Kamera in einer Szene auswählen und in der Vorschau die Welt durch die Augen der Kamera sehen. Das funktioniert auch beispielsweise mit Objekten oder Charakteren, die eine Kamera enthalten. Die Vorschau lässt sich festpinnen und durch die Umgebung bewegen.
Eine ausführliche und reich bebilderte Beschreibung des Updates 4.17 liefert Eric Games in seinem Forum. Die Engine lässt sich auf der Seite des Herstellers herunterladen, für die nicht-kommerzielle Nutzung sowie kleinere Projekte fallen keine Kosten an.
For years the mainstream tenet of the AR community has been that the success of Augmented Reality would indissolubly depend on the success of Smartglasses. On the other hand, current market dynamics clearly indicates that, in the transition between the current state of adoption of the technology and the mass adoption of smart glasses, there will be an intermediate state of large scale adoption of Mobile AR. Indeed, recent announcements from large companies such as Facebook and Apple have brought their attention to the fruition of augmented reality on mobile devices rather than on a new generation of wearable devices.
The reasons for this phenomenon are different. First, the fastest way to reach hundreds of millions of users is to target the platforms already in use by billions of users worldwide. Facebook, despite having since acquired Oculus, can immediately leverage over 1 billion users on its Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and Whatsapp platforms; conversely, Apple boasts a hardware-side privilege position, with a market share of 13% on the global scale, and on the software side due to the recent launch of ARkit, a free development kit that lets you create AR experiences on iOS devices.
This is the reason for the hype around Mobile AR, namely the ability to bring AR to billions of people without forcing them to buy a dedicated device. So while the awareness of the technology will increase, it will be possible to design and create new generations of immersive devices.
The numbers of the Mobile AR market
Digi-Capital has estimated the Mobile AR market to be worth $60 billion in 2021, including hardware and software components. On the hardware side, the main players are Apple, Samsung and Huawei, with the first being strongly present on the software side with ARkit. The users involved in this field could reach 400 million in 2021. On the software side, the main players are Facebook, Tencent, Apple and Snap, who together already count on users that go beyond the billion and that will grow even more in the coming years.
From a numerical point of view, the Mobile AR software players have the great advantage of interacting with a much wider user base than the hardware players, and the degree of adoption of the new AR features that is made available is very much higher.
iOS vs Android
It seems clear that Apple is enjoying a preferential position, which, thanks to the recent release of ARkit and the 13% market share on mobile hardware, is in the best conditions to impose its Augmented Reality model on the iOS world.
In the Android world, Samsung and Huawei, with a market share of 23% and 9% respectively, are forced to catch up because they are just starting to gear up with their own solutions both on the hardware and on the software sphere.
And what about the other mobile contenders? The only other real mobile contender is Microsoft, with one of the most convincing AR operative systems in the market. It’s true that Microsoft’s leap into AR has been huge and Hololens is purported to set a standard in the Smartglass market of the near future. Based on this great success, observers have started to wonder whether Microsoft will strengthen their mobile AR strategy or focus on the Smartglass development. Many believe that Microsoft is probably not going to stay at the door.
From Mobile to Wearable
These premises urge analysts to think that in the coming years we will witness a sharp increase in AR’s penetration on mobile devices already in use, thus avoiding the purchase of new dedicated devices. The next step will be the move from traditional mobile devices to user-friendly wearable devices. The tech giants seem to be the players who are likely going to control the market, given their already important user base and the huge financial resources available.
On the other hand, the challenge for the emerging players of the AR community will be to find the right repositioning inside the evolving AR landscape. That the opportunity is enormous is testified by the proliferation of startups and new entrants in the market. Will the latter be able to assert their competitive edge and carve out a space in the AR value chain?
Augmented reality (AR) is still in its infancy, and while both Unreal Engine and Unity have made efforts to support ARKit, a cross-platform pipeline similar to that available for Oculus Rift and HTC Vive stills seemed some way away. However, that’s all changed with independent developer Egor Bogatov’s UrhoSharp.
UrhoSharp, a .net-based engine which runs on Android, iOS, Mac, Windows and SharpReality, with support HoloLens, has now been updated to include support for ARKit. This essentially means that developers can write their application once and deploy on both the leading AR platforms.
UrhoSharp is powered by Urho3D is a free lightweight, cross-platform 2D and 3D game engine implemented in C++ and released under the MIT license. UrhoSharp supports C# and F# to create videogames and applications that run on Android, iOS, Mac, Windows and Unix, which includes both HoloLens and ARKit.
Although it might feel like just the blink of an eye, this month marks the one year anniversary of the release of Pokemon Go. The Augmented Reality (AR)-based phenomenon broke all records for mobile apps and managed to earn five Guinness World Records in the process, prompting many to declare it the Watershed moment for immersive technologies. Niantic is celebrating this milestone with a surprisingly low-key in-game event, giving users a chance to augment their Pokedex with a Pikachu sporting Ash’s famous baseball cap. Fans also got the chance to enjoy a real-world Pokemon Go experience in the form of ‘Pokemon Go Fest’ in Chicago, allowing them to access exclusive in-game content and achievements.
Before Pokemon Go burst onto the scene in July 2016, technology was mostly confined to underwhelming iPad apps and unwanted add-ons to camera software on smartphones. AR has been floating on the edges of the public consciousness for years now, but it didn’t have that ‘killer app’ to really push it over the edge into the mainstream. The various types of hardware required to produce and view high-end AR and VR experiences are generally widely available to both developers and the general public, however content really is key. Up until Pokemon Go there wasn’t an IP with enough star-power to pull in a large audience, let alone keep them! Even after a year, there are still an estimated 5 million active daily users of the app, and people are beginning to realise the power of the technology they carry in their pockets.
Snapchat sends AR viral
Several high-profile social media applications are beginning to incorporate AR into their user experience. Snapchat was the first mainstream social site to begin utilising AR to not only augment the user’s voice and appearance, but also their environment. The amusing, shareable images and videos were an instant hit, and many snaps created using the technology went viral. It didn’t take long for rivals Facebook and Instagram to launch their own versions of Snapchat’s flagship feature, in the form of AR Studio and Face Filters respectively. While this initially prompted backlash and accusations of copying from some, it’s undeniable that the more accessible AR technology is, the faster people will begin to adopt it into their daily lives. These sort of apps really could be the catalyst for mainstream adoption of immersive technologies.
Apple is shaking up the AR scene
The VR and AR industries have been waiting for an offering from Apple for some time now, especially after news broke of all the patents and hiring that was going on behind the scenes. With the release of ARKit, Apple has opened up the world of Augmented Reality development. Projects that once took boutique companies months and thousands of dollars can now be done by someone working out of their bedroom within a matter of days, if not hours. In fact, some people have predicted that this could end up killing off a whole generation of AR studios. There have already been some great examples of people using the technology, and happily these projects cover a lot of different industries; everything from gaming, to architectural visualisation, art, world-building and entertainment.
As is often the way with Apple products, the base technology in ARKit has been around for a few years. However, Apple is able to take those existing ideas and turn them into something great. The Apple brand is powerful, and lends a certain weight to new and emerging technologies. ARKit will be available on Apple devices running iOS 11, opening the platform up to a huge potential user-base. Could this be the starting point for full AR adoption?
And this is the issue: members of the public who may not have a great deal of experience with higher-end technology are able to get their hands on Augmented Reality demos with minimum effort and understanding. They literally just have to reach into their pocket. In contrast, Virtual Reality (VR) can be much harder to access. The high-end fully immersive experiences usually require a high powered PC, with a complicated set-up and a large financial investment. And for some, just putting a headset on is a step too far. VR is still widely considered to be a technology that’s out of reach to everyday consumers.
Ease of use is often important for adoption of new technology, and this is an undeniable advantage that AR offers over VR. Augmented Reality is also able to incorporate social elements with ease – just look at how Snapchat has turned it into a fully sharable experience – whilst VR has been criticised for being isolating. Also, by losing your eyes and ears you become confined to a limited space, and while that does mean you can be fully transported to any environment, it also removes the ability to access this sort of experience on the move.
So does this mean that Augmented Reality will kill off Virtual Reality? Well, no. AR and VR are two separate mediums, and conflating the two does both a disservice. Both have their own distinct advantages, disadvantages, and will possibly end up with their own distinct user bases. VR is unparallelled for transporting users to other words, and delivering experiences that you simply wouldn’t be able to access without the technology. AR is much more user-friendly, easily accessible, and available to use anywhere and everywhere. They’re not the same thing, and that’s ok: they don’t have to be. What really matters is knowing when to use each one, and how.
Despite this however, it seems that those with early access to the technology are being hemmed-in by a fear of the unknown. It’s commonly thought that entertainment will drive the way for both immersive mediums, and this is largely to do with the early adopters coming from a videogame standpoint. However, there’s much more to both AR and VR than shooting bad guys and journeying through space; with many avenues almost completely unexplored.
Education
Healthcare
Videogames
Before Pokemon Go burst onto the scene in July 2016, technology was mostly confined to underwhelming iPad apps and unwanted add-ons to camera software on smartphones. AR has been floating on the edges of the public consciousness for years now, but it didn’t have that ‘killer app’ to really push it over the edge into the mainstream. The various types of hardware required to produce and view high-end AR and VR experiences are generally widely available to both developers and the general public, however content really is key. Up until Pokemon Go there wasn’t an IP with enough star-power to pull in a large audience, let alone keep them! Even after a year, there are still an estimated 
Apple is shaking up the AR scene 
And this is the issue: members of the public who may not have a great deal of experience with higher-end technology are able to get their hands on Augmented Reality demos with minimum effort and understanding. They literally just have to reach into their pocket. In contrast, Virtual Reality (VR) can be much harder to access. The high-end fully immersive experiences usually require a high powered PC, with a complicated set-up and a large financial investment. And for some, just putting a headset on is a step too far. VR is still widely considered to be a technology that’s