Your classroom could become the cosmos.
The past could be as vivid as the present.
And the familiar could look like nothing you’ve ever seen.”
Source: https://www.apple.com/in/ios/augmented-reality/
The expectation from the tech world has increased rapidly in the past few years. The millennial users want to experience the world by living within four walls. They want an experience that could get them to the edge of the seat while playing a game or take them into virtual worlds.
Apple has recently released iOS 11 that gives the user the experience of augmented reality. Apple’s SDK – ARKit has moved beyond simple 2D camera overlays and moved on to 3D images that uses visual inertial odometry.
What does visual odometry do? It estimates the position of a moving camera in three dimensions relative to its starting position, i.e. it tracks a bunch of interest points (corner-like pixels in an image) across images in a video and uses 3D projective geometry to estimate their relative positions.
It is said that ARKit could give Google a run for their money and take Apple to the next level when it comes to giving the user an augmented reality experience on their phone.
Let’s take a look at the features that ARKit offers that are beneficial to the app developers:
- Used to improve individual elements of existing AR apps
- Used to scale objects
- Does not use the phone’s CPU (which means that it does not make the functions of the phone slow)
- Wider number of developers can track capabilities of iPhones and iPads
- Reduces development time
- Apple’s new machine learning framework can also help identify objects in a screen
- Apple’s advantage with ARKit is that it works with iOS, which has a less fragmented ecosystem than Android, as Apple controls both the hardware and software for all its devices. Post release of ARKit, independent software developers created incredible-looking experiences for the iPhone.
iOS Device that Works with ARKit
iPhone
- iPhone XSiPhone ten s
- iPhone XS MaxiPhone ten s Max
- iPhone XRiPhone ten r
- iPhone X
- iPhone 8
- iPhone 8 Plus
- iPhone 7
- iPhone 7 Plus
- iPhone 6s
- iPhone 6s Plus
- iPhone SE
iPad
- iPad Pro (all models)
- iPad (6th generation)
- iPad (5th generation)
Examples of ARKit App
There are various groups which make popular use of the ARKit app. Right from apps used for editing images, gaming apps, lifestyle/home décor apps, etc.
Let’s take a look at some of the most commonly talked about groups, the augmented appearance application:
“Mirror mirror on the wall,
Who is the fairest of them all?”
-Snow White (Fairytale, 19th Century)
As much as we would hate to admit it, we live in the ‘selfie’ age where pictures are not only taken and uploaded but are heavily filtered/edited as well. AR offers “lenses” or a variety of filters which can be added to the images. With the help of apps, we can alter the following:
- Add Stickers to our images
- Alter looks by using filters or stickers
- Change our appearance (skin colour, eye colour, make-up, hair colour, etc)
- Create an illusion of wearing make-up
Hence, it is no surprise when market leaders like ModiFace offer ARKit apps for the beauty industry along with something known as the “magic mirror” software.
Not only does this save your time but there is also no tedious clean-up involved before trying on different shades. This not only makes it beneficial for the brand where they save up on testers and makeup representatives but also the consumer (you) who can try endless numbers of combination and colours and be spoilt for choice.
The latest rendering of the augmented reality is seen in Apples latest creation of an app which takes a 3D photo. Virtual objects are in the background i.e. 2D camera image and the virtual content is made to appear as a 3D object.
Real-Estate and Home Décor Applications:
Everyone likes to make changes to their home now and again. Whether you are setting up a home for the first time, or its time to refurbish, you always know how you want your ideal home to look. But that’s not necessarily how things end up looking! For example, the couch looked perfect in the store, but at home it looks dull and much too big/small for the space or does not match with the rest of the furniture.
Real-estate, home design and décor apps help buyers see exactly how the products would look in their home. They can also re-design the entire look with just a few swipes and click.
Let’s take a look at some real-estate and home décor apps which use ARKit apps:
- TapMeasure uses augmented reality apps to be able to create 3D models with the room builder feature. Since this app can measure your interior space, the models created are exactly to the point. It also allows you to share your work via a simple url.
- PLNAR gives some useful tools for creating building plans. These tools can benefit home owners, as well as interior designers. This app measures the room, lets you mark doorways, flat surfaces and measure the distance and objects. Using these AR features makes it simple to customize projects and share the same with home owners, as well as designers.
- Housecraft is another app which helps customize projects and redesign homes digitally before actually making any changes. Using the ARKit features, it allows for fully rendered 3D models to be created with the help of convenient tools.
- IKEA has also created an ARKit app known as Ikea Place, which shows you how their furniture would look in your home. This app not only scans the room but also shares ideas about what Ikea furniture would be best for your home.
- Other companies like Mongoli Market, Overstock, and Houzz App have also created more AR experiences which show how their products would look in your home. You also have extensive design samples which can help you redesign your own home. It is a digital market place that shows you 3D models of what you can expect.
Educational Applications:
Everything is now digital, virtual or online. We now have new learning apps which help give you knowledge regarding everything from languages to even technical know-hows.
ARKit apps have gained popularity in making practical lessons which complement each other and aid as a teaching and educational tool. A wide range of subjects are covered by these apps like anatomy to math to language to coding in Swift. Thanks to the tools available via these apps, children as well as adults can learn about the world around us with a swipe.
Technical Design Skills with the Help of ARKit Apps
SketchAR – this app helps artists as the name suggests to practice their skills. It helps artists draw their pictures and also provides a library with various images of nature, wild life, food, etc.
Astronomy with ARKit Apps
- SkyORB: For all the astronomy enthusiasts out there, this app has a 3D star map, planetarium and sun clock. The AR tools (with the help of GPS) allow users to get the names of stars and planets just by pointing to them. An added benefit is that it also alerts the observers for any astronomical events worth seeing such as, an eclipse.
- Augmented Reality Solar System App: This app focuses on the planets in our solar system, their distance from each other and their orbit radius on a realistic scale.
Conclusion
If you are not an Apple user fear not on missing out the experience of an augmented reality app. Just like ARKit, ARCore software development kit has been previewed by Google. ARCore also adds the same functions of augmented reality to Android phones. Currently, it works on Samsung Galaxy S8 and Google Pixel and soon will also be available to Android 7.0 Nougat users.
If you wish to know more about augmented reality, you can contact the App Scoop mobile app developers: https://app-scoop.com/contact-us.html.
