Introduction
Augmented reality (AR) is a fun, exciting and quickly developing space. With the release of Apple’s ARKit and Google’s ARCore technologies, you can now easily create your own augmented reality experiences using existing tools. Unity has been one of the most popular game engines for some time now, so it should come as no surprise that it also has tools for creating AR apps. Apple’s ARKit has been around since iOS 11 was released in 2017, while Google’s ARCore isn’t available on any iOS devices yet — but you can still develop apps using their native development kits (NDKs). Vuforia is another popular option for creating augmented reality experiences with Android or iOS devices; however, its technology isn’t limited to mobile devices but also works on web browsers and even smart TVs!
Unity
Unity is a game engine and development environment. It supports 3D graphics and 2D graphics, as well as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). Unity also has an asset store where you can buy or sell assets such as characters, environments, audio files and scripts.
The Unity community includes over 700 thousand developers around the world who collaborate with each other on projects like games or apps for mobile devices like smartphones or tablets.
Apple’s ARKit
Apple’s ARKit is a framework that allows developers to easily create augmented reality experiences for iPhone and iPad. ARKit can be used to create apps that can recognize surfaces and place objects in the real world, like these examples from Apple:
- A virtual closet where you can try on clothes without having to go shopping
- A virtual art gallery where you can view pieces from different angles by moving your phone around them
- A virtual tabletop game that lets players move pieces around with their fingers
Google’s ARCore
Google’s ARCore is a development platform that allows you to build augmented reality apps for Android. It’s built on top of the core principles of Android, so it requires an AR-ready device–the Google Pixel 2, Samsung Galaxy S8/S9 and other recent flagships are supported–and supports over 100 million devices.
ARCore uses motion tracking and environmental understanding to detect flat surfaces like tables or floors. Objects in your scene can appear to interact with real world objects like they were actually there (ahem, Pokémon Go).
Vuforia
Vuforia is a platform that allows developers to create augmented reality apps. It’s used by many companies, including BMW and Audi.
Vuforia is a cloud-based platform that allows you to develop applications for both iOS and Android devices.
There are many tools available for creating augmented reality applications.
There are many tools available for creating augmented reality applications. These tools are free or low cost, easy to use and popular with developers. They also tend to be compatible with most devices.
The following are four of the best AR development tools:
Conclusion
We hope this article has helped you understand the different options for developing AR applications. As always, we encourage you to explore the tools that interest you and try them out for yourself before committing to any one platform or toolset. Don’t be afraid to experiment with new ideas!
