CHAPTER – 10

AUGMENTED REALITY

10.1 INTRODUCTION:

A combining real scene view by a user and a virtual scene generated by

computer is known as Augmented reality.
It Augments the scene with additional information.AR system, adds
virtual computer generated objects, audio and other sense enhancements to a
real-world environment in real time.

Goal of AR is to enhance a person’s performance and perception of the

world.

In 1994 Paul Milgram and Fumio Kishino defined a mixedreality as

“anywhere between the extrema of the virtual continuum” where the
Virtuality Continuum extends from completely real through to the
completely virtual environment with augmented reality and
augmented virtuality ranging between .
 10.2 Display for AR

• Head-mounted Display(HMD)
• Eye Glasses
• Contact Lenses
• Virtual Retina Display
• Handheld
Spatial
 10.3 Applications
• Medical
• Entertainment
• Military training
• Engineering Design
• Robotics and Telerobotics
• Consumer Design
• Hazard Detection
• Audio
• Manufacturing, maintenance and repair
10.4 Best AR SDK:
I. Wikitude

 Supported platforms: Android, iOS, Windows for tablets,

smart glasses
 Features :

o Scene recognition (augment large objects for

outdoor gaming, construction, etc.),
o New extended recording and tracking of
objects (scan and see augmented objects
beyond markers),
o Instant targets (save and share instant
augmentations),
o Unity live preview (AR-view feature into Unity
editor to test the SDK features).
o Windows supports.
o With over 1 billion app installs and as one of the
fastest-growing AR ecosystems.
o Free with watermark.

II. ARKit -Augmented Reality development for Iot

 Pricing: free / $99 annual developer program

for distribution.
 June 2018 Apple launched – ARKit 2 version
 ARKit supports 2-dimensional image detection (trigger AR
with posters, signs, images), and even 2D image tracking,
meaning the ability to embed objects into AR experiences.
 SDK allows developing apps that would recognize spaces
and 3D objects, as well as place virtual objects on surfaces
E.g. Ikea Place app, where one can place virtual furniture items in his/her
own real space.

III. ARCore - Google’s response to ARKit

 Supported platforms: Android 7.0 and higher, iOS 11

or higher.
  Three core capabilities

o Motion tracking – to track phone’s position

relative to the surroundings.
o Environmental understanding – to detect the
size/location of surfaces, from horizontal and
vertical, to even angled surfaces.
o Light estimation – to estimate the real-life
lighting conditions.
 Pricing : Free
 In essence, ARCore is based around 2 elements
o real-time position tracking and
o integration of virtual and real objects

Examples Just A Line app, ARuler app, Ikea Place

IV. Vuforia

 Supported platforms: Android, iOS, UWP and Unity

Editor
 functionalities:
 recognition of the different types of visual objects (a
box, cylinder, plane),
 text and environments recognition,
 VuMark (a combination of picture and QR-code).
  Vuforia Object Scanner, you can scan and create object
targets.
 The recognition process can be implemented using the
database (local or cloud storage).

 Unity plugin is simple to integrate and very powerful.

 Pricing – free with watermark

V. Other popular SDK for AR development

o EasyAR
o ARToolKit
o Xzimg
o NyARToolkit
o Kudan
o Maxst
10.5 A-Frame:
10.5.1 INTRODUCTION

A-Frame is an open-source web framework for building virtual reality

(VR) experiences. The A-Frame framework was created in 2015 by the
Mozilla VR team and it is maintained by developers from Supermedium
(Diego Marcos, Kevin Ngo) and Google (Don McCurdy).
A-Frame is based on HTML and the DOM, which makes it accessible and
easy to use. framework for Three.js where developers can create 3D image and
WebVR scenes using HTML.
HTML provides a familiar authoring tool for web developers and
designers while incorporating a popular game development pattern used by
engines such as Unity.

10.5.2 WORKING

• A-Frame is a web framework for building virtual reaslity (VR)

experiences.
• A-Frame is based on top of HTML, making it simple to get
started.
• But A-Frame is not just a 3D scene graph or a markup language; the core
is a powerful entity-component framework that provides a declarative,
extensible, and composable structure to three.js.
• Originally conceived within Mozilla and now maintained by the co-creators of
A-Frame within Supermedium, A-Frame was developed to be an easy yet
powerful way to develop VR content.

10.5.3 Features

• Cross-Platform VR: Build VR applications for Vive, Rift, Windows Mixed

Reality, Daydream, GearVR, and Cardboard with support for all respective
controllers. Don’t have a headset or controllers? No problem! A-Frame still
works on standard desktop and smartphones.
• Performance: A-Frame is optimized from the ground up for WebVR. While
A-Frame uses the DOM, its elements don’t touch the browser layout engine.
3D object updates are all done in memory with little garbage and overhead.
The most interactive and large scale WebVR applications have been done in
A-Frame running smoothly at 90fps.
• Visual Inspector: A-Frame provides a handy built-in visual 3D
inspector. Open up any A-Frame scene, hit <ctrl> + <alt> + i, and
fly around to peek under the hood.

• Components: Hit the ground running with A-Frame’s core components such
as geometries, materials, lights, animations, models, raycasters, shadows,
positional audio, text, and controls for most major headsets. Get even further
from the hundreds of community components including environment, state,
particle systems, physics, multiuser, oceans, teleportation, super hands, and
augmented reality.
• Proven and Scalable: A-Frame has been used by companies such as Google,
Disney, Samsung, Toyota, Ford, Chevrolet, Amnesty International, CERN,
NPR, Al Jazeera, The Washington Post, NASA. Companies such as Google,
Microsoft, Oculus, and Samsung have made contributions to A-Frame.

10.5.4 Three.js

 Three.js is a cross-browser JavaScript library and Application Programming

Interface (API) used to create and display animated 3D computer graphics
in a web browser.
  Three.js uses WebGL.
 The source code is hosted in a repository on GitHub.

10.5.5 WebVR

 WebVR is a JavaScript API for creating immersive 3D, virtual reality

experiences in your browser. Or simply put, allows VR in the browser over
the Web.
 A-Frame uses the WebVR API to gain access to VR headset sensor
data (position, orientation) to transform the camera and to render
content directly to VR headsets. Note that WebVR, which provides
data, should not be confused nor conflated with WebGL, which
provides graphics and rendering.
10.5.6 A-Frame Supports

 VR on desktop with a headset

 VR on mobile with a headset
 VR on standalone headset
 Flat on desktop (i.e., mouse and keyboard)
 Flat mobile (i.e., magic window)
 AR headsets (e.g., Magic Leap, HoloLens)
 mobile (i.e., magic window, ARKit, ARCore)

 A-Frame supports VR for any browser that implements the WebVR

specifications, flat 3D for most browsers.