Introduction to Augmented Reality
In a flashy presentation at its Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple discussed the potential augmented reality holds for the iPhone. Apple’s vp of software engineering, Craig Federighi, said that whenever you bring the iPhone’s touchscreen and camera together, the outcomes could be quite profound. Federighi was unveiling ARKit, a set of tools Apple released for developers with iOS 11 to make creating augmented reality apps for iPhones and iPads much easier.
What is Augmented Reality?
Augmented reality is a technology that permits your phone to combine real-world surroundings with what’s being shown on screen using the device’s camera. It’s how, for instance, a game like Pokémon Go is in a position to make it appear like a monster is standing in your nightstand or on the sidewalk, not only floating in space disengaged. The first wave of ARKit-powered apps has been available for 3 weeks since iOS 11 debuted, and while they aren’t as profound or polished as Apple would have you suspect, some apps offer compelling glimpses of how AR could eventually rewrite the ways through which we’ll have the ability to rework reality through our smart devices.
Exploring AR Apps
Several AR apps have been explored, and a handful of them, while imperfect, offer interesting experiences. These apps include JigSpace, TapMeasure, Fitness AR, Vuforia Chalk, and Quartz. Each of those apps provides a singular experience, from learning about specific subjects to measuring rooms and visualizing runs and bike routes in 3D.
JigSpace
JigSpace is an app that features a small library of animated 3D graphics with accompanying text that you could explore to learn the way certain objects function. After choosing a tutorial, the app will scan your surroundings for a flat surface that it could actually virtually place the thing on. Once it’s done this, you’ll be able to pinch to zoom-in on the graphic, then rotate it to view it from any angle. The app’s selection is currently limited, however it illustrates how AR could be employed to supply immediately useful experiences that don’t feel gimmicky.
TapMeasure
TapMeasure is an app that uses your iPhone’s camera to assist with measurements, reminiscent of detecting the length of a room or generating 3D scans of spaces. The app is incredibly easy to make use of: just tap the button that appears on screen to set your place to begin, move your phone along the surface you’d prefer to measure, then press the button again to set your end point. TapMeasure also offers tools for leveling picture frames and other types of digital measurement.
Fitness AR
Fitness AR is an app that integrates with fitness social network Strava, so that you could visualize runs and bike routes in 3D. The app creates a 3D map of paths you’ve logged within the app that’s viewable from multiple vantage points. You can zoom in to get a better look and scout potential courses using the Fitness AR’s route constructing option. As AR technology improves, a tool like this might help athletes who want to reinforce their performance by studying the terrain on previous routes.
Vuforia Chalk
Vuforia Chalk is an app that makes explaining instructions to someone remotely easier. With Vuforia Chalk, you’ll be able to share your device’s view of something with another person to debate an issue, say which button to push on a distant, or operate a homemade cappuccino maker. The two of you’ll be able to then annotate the screen to pass along or comment on directions in real time. The app uses augmented reality to ensure that those markups stay in place as you progress your phone’s camera across the space.
Quartz
Quartz is a news outlet that’s continually evolving its storytelling formats to maintain up with recent technologies. The Quartz mobile app is a fantastic example of this, with certain stories including an choice to view the content in augmented reality. A story a couple of recent automobile, for instance, is likely to be accompanied by a 3D graphic of the automobile, which readers can then examine from multiple perspectives. It’s going to take time for news publishers and app developers to search out the perfect uses for augmented reality, but Quartz’s approach is a promising start.
Conclusion
Augmented reality is a technology that has the potential to rework the way in which we interact with our surroundings. While the primary wave of ARKit-powered apps will not be perfect, they provide a glimpse into the probabilities of what could be achieved with this technology. As AR technology improves, we are able to expect to see more progressive and useful apps that change the way in which we learn, measure, visualize, and interact with the world around us. With apps like JigSpace, TapMeasure, Fitness AR, Vuforia Chalk, and Quartz, the longer term of augmented reality is looking vivid, and it can be exciting to see what the longer term holds for this technology.
