Using just a smartphone & an image marker our audience can manipulate 3D models.
Work:
Tried to use targets to model furniture at scale as a test for the branded content studio who are planning a pitch for a furniture store
TBC
Next Steps
- Get Vuforia 6.2.6 working
- or do a room scale demo with older library
Feedback
• Image Targets don't work well at a distance, at least not using Apple's facetime cam (limited to 720 Resolution)
• Can't export a working Android .APK using Vuforia Unity 6.2.6 seeing errors about Occulus.
Work:
I made a new demo, and in the course learned a little more about unity, namely how to create basic animations and import 3D objects.
This version of the app uses a 3D scan that Brittany Peterson did of me. She used a V1 Kinect sensor and Skanect software. She did the scan while practicing for an opportunity to scan an Olympic athlete. Unfortunately, that opportunity never materialized.
Next Steps
- Learn more about Unity
- Improve the lighting and texture of the model
- Add interactivity
- Prove narrative capability
Feedback
Work:
Vuforia offers a free-to-start SDK for Unity that uses computer vision to enable the easy creation of Augmented Reality apps. There are plenty of tutorials available to help you quick-start the process of building an app.
Here's one particularly thorough tutorial:
The pricing structure is:
$0 - for non-commercial use
$499 - One-time usage
$99+ per Month - Ongoing cloud-based service
The plugin requires you to upload a relatively complex asymmetrical image, I used the face of a 1 dollar bill, because it's so readily available. That image is the target that a camera will search for. Then you can use Unity to place a model in 3D space in relation to the image.
For my first effort, I used a model of a Palm Tree, that is freely available in Unity.
Unity is a game engine which allows users to create games/apps for multiple platforms including Android & iOS. It's free to demo and has a variety of licensing structures ranging from $35 per seat / month to $125 per seat/month and beyond.
If you have an Android device and know how to sideload an app, you can download and demo the app from the first iteration here:
Next Steps
- Learn more about Unity
- Try importing a model made by the Sandbox
- Add animation to the model
- Try using a masthead and presenting video, think Harry Potter-esque newspaper
Feedback
Ben: A dollar is a good target because it's easy to get. It's a bad target because the image is on a thin surface and it warps, then Vuforia fails to recognize it.