AR Foundation Framework and AR Apps

Understand the fundamentals first, then look into how Unity can help you make AR apps for mobile devices. Because of this, individuals are able to function more effectively and efficiently.

It's a way to show and tell with actual information. The current status of the world can be seen in the virtual elements. This article is the first in a series that will explore the AR Foundation framework for Unity, which can be used to build apps for use in games. 

While employing image tracking, you can pick a specific image to superimpose your model on. You can also hire ios developers and teams for this purpose. Building the game in Unity will aid in finding the correct spot on the printed target image for the model. In the plane tracking mode, your model will be superimposed onto physical things. The steps required to make an AR game with Unity are outlined here.

For those unfamiliar, please explain what Augmented Reality

Holographic technology creates a more realistic and engaging picture of the natural world when combined with digital visual components, sounds, and other sensory stimulation. Augmented reality consists of three components: the merging of the digital and physical worlds, interactivity in the present moment, and accurate recognition of three-dimensional objects.

By superimposing digital content in realistic working contexts, augmented reality provides a more effective means of creating, curating, and distributing simply understandable instructions. Successful use of augmented reality in the workplace allows for distant teams to work together effectively.

For that matter, what is Unity?

In addition to being a powerful 3D/2D game engine, Unity is also a powerful cross-platform IDE for programmers. Unity was developed by Unity Technologies as a ground-breaking attempt to make game development software available to a wider audience. Over its long history, the engine has undergone significant refinement and expansion to keep up with evolving standards and technologies.

In spite of its origins in real-time 3D development, the engine has since expanded into other fields, where it has shown to be extremely useful.

The AR Foundation

Nowadays, ARKit and ARCore for Android are the two most popular augmented reality software development kits (SDKs). With the AR Foundation API, programmers can quickly and easily develop AR apps for either system. Separate projects for Android and iOS, or even more complex programming, are available to hire ios developers. Everything you need is at AR Foundation.

What's the deal and how does it function?

AR systems must first understand what is in the environment and where it is located before overlaying digital items in games and design. Recruit a seasoned Unity 3D game developer with experience in augmented reality frameworks for the detection of planes, distances, and other crucial 3D computations. The methodology is complex enough to stand on its own as a separate issue.

Setup Requirements

• Get Unity Hub and set it up. Start by making an account by clicking the "Create an Account" button.
• The Unity Control Panel can be launched by selecting Add > Setup. Choose Unity 2019.1.f7 from the list of options (the most recent stable version).
• At the installation page, choose either Android Build Support or iOS Build Support. The Android SDK and NDK Tools can be accessed by clicking the icon next to Android Build Support.
• It is possible to obtain and install Android Studio. They can use it to get the newest Android SDKs if they need to. Unity makes working with Android's SDK and NDK remarkably easy, and it's recommended that you do so. With Android Studio installed and games created in Unity, you have a full-fledged Android development environment right on your desktop, ready to handle even the most sophisticated of use cases.
• You should download XCode from the App Store and make sure you have the most recent version.

Setup Unity Project

To prepare your Unity3D project, you can either visit the Unity Asset Store and search for the Agora Video SDK for Unity3D, or you can click here to begin the download process. The Unity game development team has kept copies of the present SDK version in case future releases of the SDK provide a new interface.

Once you've downloaded and imported the files for the various platforms the SDK supports, you should be able to see them in your project. The quick-start tutorials for each system are available through Unity, a game production tool.

The Window menu in the Unity Editor can be used to access the Package Manager. Prepare the following software:

AR Foundation -> Preview.3 – 2.1.0

AR Core XR Plugin -> Preview.5 – 2.1.0

AR Kit XR Plugin -> Preview.5 – 2.1.0

AR Kit Face Tracking -> Preview.6 – 1.0.0

Build Process

The build process for an iOS Unity app involves a number of intricate steps. Here you may find the original Unity tutorial for trying out augmented reality apps on the iOS platform. By following the instructions at the following link, you will be ready to begin making changes to the material.

• An iPhone / iOS device with at least iOS 11
• Latest XCode
• Apple Id

To successfully build your Unity app for iOS testing, please refer to the website's guide while keeping the following in mind. If you do as instructed, you will have your app up and running on your mobile device. Launch the application and direct the camera towards one of the images located in ImageTracking>Images. Photographs must clearly depict the model used as a template. Moving on to Unity model import is ok.

Developing for iOS

As far as mobile app development goes, iOS development is very similar to Android development, with a few extra requirements. In order to begin, they need to download and run a tool called Xcode. It may be downloaded and installed via the App Store or the Apple website. Having a Unity 3D game developer on staff can be useful for making adjustments to the Unity build system.

Use the "Build Settings" menu in "File." Invoke the Build Settings dialogue. Choose iOS by clicking the Switch Platform button. Clicking the Player Settings button brings up the Project Settings window. The top-tier unity game will always have this set to Player.

• The Product Name area is where you should enter the name you would want to see appear when using the app.
• While making a game with Unity, you must enable the Auto Graphics API in the game's Other Settings.
• They haven't finished updating everything yet, so please keep reading down.
• Provide your programme with a unique name for its Bundle Identifier.
• Camera Use Description should reflect the intended application of the camera.
• Choose ARM64 as the CPU Family.
• Choose XR > ARKit to enter the ARKit interface. At this point, you can click Create to save the image to the Assets folder.
• After the screen refreshes, change the Required setting to the optional one.
• We can finally have them make our software. Choose File > Build Settings to bring up the Build Settings dialogue again. After that, choose to construct, and last, save it in a convenient location.
• To begin developing for the iPhone, open Xcode by double-clicking the Unity-iPhone.xcodeproj file we just created in the project folder.
• From Xcode, they send the file to the mobile device. To begin developing on the iPhone, click the Unity-iPhone icon in the top left of the screen.
• To construct a gadget, we need access to a linked account. In the Xcode > Preferences box, select the Accounts tab. First, select Apple ID by clicking the "+" button here. The roster should update to include your name once you've logged in.
• Enable signature automation in Xcode's main window.
• Next, link your Squad to your profile. Please ensure your device is plugged in and then press the Play button to begin the Construction.
• It should not take more than a few seconds after launching the app for the location indicator to appear.

Conclusion

They learned the basics of augmented reality, the Unity user interface, how to set up their device, and how to publish their very basic test application on Android from the aforementioned resources, a series on augmented reality and Unity's AR Foundation framework.

In the next chapters, Unity's game developers started working on an augmented reality app. Interaction with their software will teach them about item positioning and plane identification.