5 Best Augmented Reality SDKs and Frameworks
[Philip Lelyveld note: the article describes the features and strengths of each one.]
Number one - Kudan. AR SDK.
Number Two - Simple CV.
Number Three - Vuforia, Augmented Reality SDK.
Number 4 - Wikitude SDK.
Number 5 - ARToolKit
See the full story here: https://themindstudios.com/blog/5-best-augmented-reality-sdks-and-frameworks/
Xiaomi And Nokia To Work Together On Virtual Reality, Artificial Intelligence And The Internet Of Things
The Chinese smartphone manufacturer today signed an agreement with Nokia, allowing the two to exchange cellular patents, while also setting up for new future projects. It seems Xiaomi will now be working together with Nokia on various smartphone add-on technologies like the Internet of Things, virtual reality, and even artificial intelligence. Nokia, for its part, will supply network infrastructure equipment.
How Does Lytro Capture Light Fields for Virtual Reality?
Using an array of cameras set up in a predesigned capture matrix, each can be programmed to “see” different perspectives—exposure, shutter timing, focal length and position all carefully measured and quantized sequentially.
This array-based system of light-field technologies allows Lytro to capture a light field, calculate ray angles and then manifest a virtual representation for interactive immersion.
Light rays pass through the lens and aperture of the each Lytro camera, along with their color characteristics, angular directions and intensity. An array of microlenses gathers captured rays into image discs. Each image disc covers its own part of the sensor, and bundles of light rays are gathered up. The bundles are then processed by a computational engine within the hardware, using a geometric model to create accurate light behavior in virtual reality.
See the full story here: http://www.engineering.com/ARVR/ArticleID/15165/How-Does-Lytro-Capture-Light-Fields-for-Virtual-Reality.aspx
Inside Peter Jackson’s New Augmented Reality Studio
“As ar is such a new field, demos are often reasonably simple in their scope and we really wanted to make something more cinematic,” said Coull. “We created this world to tell a short little story whilst also really pushing the hardware and software to see what it could do.”
The idea behind ARKit is essentially a framework for building ar experiences. It lets creators lock their digital content onto some kind of object such as a tabletop, and then track the iPad or iPhone camera as someone moves the device around. On the device screen, it appears as if the action is taking place on the table or other object even during movement.
“He just made something super cool with little restrictions,” said Coull. “We then figured out the technology we needed to create to take that awesome explosion and make it run at 60 fps on an iPad.”
And immediately following the WWDC, many wondered whether the Wingnut AR demo might end up becoming some kind of playable game. But Coull says that’s currently not on the agenda.
See the full story here: http://www.cartoonbrew.com/vr/inside-peter-jacksons-new-augmented-reality-studio-151959.html
GunnAR Live Fire Test Shows How AR Can Revolutionize Decades-old Combat Procedures
The GunnAR system uses augmented reality helmets to visually relay targeting and firing commands to gunners aboard Navy vessels, replacing decades-old methods of giving audible commands by radio which can be hard to hear over the sounds of firing machine guns and through required ear protection.
Developed by the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific’s(SSC Pacific) Battlespace Exploitation of Mixed Reality Lab (BEMR), the system employs the Daqri smart helmet which is a self-contained AR headset powered by an Intel processor. Combined with a tablet-controlled app, a ship’s gunnery liaison officer can issue precise commands that are shown visually to the gunner, avoiding any ambiguity that could be introduced due to the difficulty of hearing audible commands in a combat scenario.
See the full story here: https://www.roadtovr.com/gunnar-live-fire-test-shows-ar-can-revolutionize-decades-old-combat-procedures/
Augmented Reality on Your Desk—All You Need Is a Lightbulb Socket
...the premise behind a project from researchers in the Future Interfaces Group at Carnegie Mellon University. Called Desktopography, it uses a small projector, a depth sensor, and a computer to project images onto surfaces; the projections can move around to stay out of the way of objects that are also on the surface. It screws into a lightbulb socket, and the latest prototype uses the lamp for power, says Robert Xiao, a graduate student who leads the project.
If you place an object—say, a cup—on the area where one of the images is projected, software helps it quickly move to an open spot.
“It’s about trying to break interaction out from our screens and our devices, where they’re separated from reality, and a separate world, really … and try to merge those onto our environment,” Xiao says.
Xiao is trying to be realistic, saying it could take about five years to make his project a real product.
See the full story here: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/608198/augmented-reality-on-your-desk-all-you-need-is-a-lightbulb-socket/
How an international team made an augmented reality detective game
One studio with a novel approach to augmented reality play is Funbakers, who have just released their AR title Silent Streets for iOS and Android. What makes the game particularly interesting is the way it marries modern technology with classic storytelling.
The game is set in the fictional Victorian town of Snowport. You play a detective who arrives in town, and quickly finds himself embroiled in a murder mystery.
It is, basically, a good old-fashioned detective story. Not long after booting up the app, however, the AR-elements kick in.
When searching an environment for important objects, you can use your phone’s camera to find the items in the ‘real world’. If you decide to travel to another area of the city, you have to physically walk a prescribed distance (don’t worry - the step counts are modest). This can be done in the background, so you don’t have to keep staring at your phone while you’re walking about (those pesky safety concerns that were raised about Pokémon Go don't apply here).
Meanwhile, you may have ‘encounters’ as the app runs away in the background - your phone may vibrate as you walk, for example, to inform you that you have encountered a mysterious stranger in game.
The result is a satisfying mix of the old and the new. The AR elements are less intrusive than other games of its ilk, while lending the whole experience (already blessed by excellent production values) a very welcome sense of tangibility.
Making and selling the game
Pricing wise, the game’s first episode is free. Players can then buy the later episodes, while the game also offers the option to take ‘cab rides’ (i.e. watch ads or pay real money) to quickly skip the in-game walks - albeit in a way that stays true to the game's fiction.
Like many modern development teams, the Silent Streets crew operate remotely. Demid said: “I'm in Maynooth, while Kevin Boylan - our intern programmer from IT Carlow - works from home in Co Wexford. Other team members are indeed scattered all over the world, from Brazil and England to Belarus and Russia.
“We use Slack and Skype extensively, but sure sometimes there's loss of information, and we may spend an hour quarrelling in a text chat!
See the full story here; http://www.newstalk.com/How-an-international-team-made-an-augmented-reality-detective-game
RYOT Studios’ Molly Swenson on Turning Impact Storytelling and Virtual Reality into a Business (Video)
[She talks about RYOT's repositioning to include branded content in VR and AR.]
See the full story with 18 minute video here: https://thevideoink.com/ryot-studios-molly-swenson-on-turning-impact-storytelling-and-virtual-reality-into-a-business-bf21673078da