Getting Started
Before we even begin coding for AR,
there are a few steps a developer would need to follow to build an application
that suites their needs and vision. This blog post will adhere to a fellow
beginner developer of AR.
1. Figuring out which Operating System
There are a lot of
Operating Systems out there; First, figuring out which OS you'd like to develop
for is an important step. For the purpose of easy accessibility, we will be
talking about Mobile development, more specifically Android.
2. 2D or 3D?
This is an important question because without it being answered, you will have a lot of trouble developing the application you want. Do you just want a 2D sticker that is projected onto your screen or do you want to be able to look around your object thus making it 3D? 2D can be developed without the need of an engine but 3D would run a lot smoother if it was built on an existing platform such as Unity. Unity is able to provide rendering of Graphical images to provide a more 3D look such as shadows, movement, textures and even physics.
3. Finding an AR tool
After answering the previous two questions, you are on your way to start developing but before that, finding the right tools may aid in
development of your application. Thankfully, there are a lot out there as AR
isn't generally a new technology, it just happened to become popular due to
accessibility and wide variety of new applications. A few tools are available
for free, many more if you are willing to pay for a developer's version. For this post, we will only talk about two free SDKs.
Vuforia - Qualcomm
Vuforia is a very
popular SDK for AR. It's easy for beginners and even a non-programmer can
develop an AR application with the ease of use. Vuforia offers both a free
version and a several pro versions ranging from $99/month for a cloud service
or a $499 one time fee for a classic version. This SDK can ONLY develop for
Mobile devices, which is exactly what we're looking for. A bonus with this developmental kit is that it also provides support for Unity engine.
ARToolKit - DAQRi
Another free development kit. This SDK provides a free access to their library aiding development of your application. Unfortunately this SDK is very limited to how much your application will be able to do, mainly 2D marking. On the bright side, this SDK supports more than just Mobile OS but desktop as well.
