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Welcome back to the series of Augmented Reality blogs! Here we present to you the Augmented Reality Project- A TCW Case Study. Wait, are you new here? If yes, then I would like you to check out our previous two blogs on the fundamentals and rising demand of augmented reality as well as its growing influence in business.

Here you go:

• What is Augmented Reality and why is it in-demand?
• Why use Augmented Reality for your Business?

Now see, the purpose of this whole AR flow in our blog section is to introduce you to the growing influence of Augmented Reality in the world of business and how we can help you be a part of that niche.

So our dedicated Android development team has been working on some AR applications and integrated various operations into an APK format. And I am more than thrilled to share that workflow and snippets with you.

Are you ready to take a peek into the most wanted tech trend ever? Here we go!

Overview of the Augmented Reality Project

This case study is written under the supervision of the Android development team at TheCodeWork. They have been researching and working on the project for months and the outcome is as cool as it gets for a first-timer project.

So let’s break it down here. There are three major segments that we have worked on: 

1. Augmented Reality
2. Instant Placement
3. Augmented Image

All these 3 segments find use in today’s market and we will discuss every bit of it through a series of case studies. Sounds good? 

Now, here we are going to talk about the Augmented Reality case study, so stay with me till the end of the article, will you?

About the Augmented Reality Project

Augmented Reality (Using ARcore Sceneform Library)

ARCore is a platform by Google to build Augmented reality experiences. Using various APIs, ARCore equips your device/phone to sense its surroundings, comprehend the world around it and engage with the available information. 

Some of these APIs are readily available across iOS and Android platforms to permit an overall AR experience.

ARCore does two major things:

• Tracks the location of the device while it moves.
• and builds its own comprehension and experience of the real world. 

How does ARCore’s motion tracking technology work?

Well, the motion tracking technology of ARCore, utilizes the device’s camera to locate intriguing points or as we call them – features. It keeps tracking down these features and their movements over time. 

With the help of these features and tracking data, the ARCore defines the orientation and position of the device, as it moves around in space. Also, this platform has the ability to identify flat surfaces, like a floor or a table, and determine the overall lighting in the surrounding area. 

These abilities help the ARCore develop its very own understanding of the real world. Consequently, this allows you to place annotations,  objects, or various other data in a way that blends with the real world. How cool is that?

For example, we have worked with an astronaut in our project, which we can place on any plane.

With the help of the Motion Tracking technology, we can view this astronaut (any given object or annotation) from any angle and its location would remain the same. Yes, it will stay at the same place even if you leave the room and come back after a while. See the magic?

ARCore requirements for the Augmented Reality Project

To use the Google Play Services for Augmented Reality, you will firstly need an Android device and that too with the following features:

• A Google Account, obviously.
• ARCore-certification- It already exists in Android devices. No worries.
• Minimum 1 GB of free space.
• Minimum one pre-installed AR app.
• An unmetered mobile network.

How does the Augmented Reality Project work?

Google Play Services for AR, installs AR experiences for your device using applications that are built for Google’s AR platform as a target. Check this list out:

• Install Google Play Services for Augmented Reality.
• Open Google Play on your Android device which as you know, is a Google Playstore app.
• Download the Google Play Services for AR app.

Installation steps

Check out the following steps to install 

• The API level in use has to be Api 24, Android 7, or above. 
• The Android Studio version must be 3.1 or even higher for every case of Augmented Reality Apps.
• Add Sceneform tools in Android Studio Under Plugin.
• In build.gradle of App, add a Sceneform UX library.
• Add Sceneform plugin.

Android → file → setting → plugins → Google scene form tools (beta)

• Compile Option to support Kotlin which is needed for Sceneform library.
• Steps to follow: https://developers.google.com/scenefo

• Import the Sceneform plugin
• Convert the model
• Configure your project’s build.gradle files
• Update your AndroidManifest.xml
• Load Model
• Create model renderables
• Build the Augmented Scene

• In project’s build.gradle, add the Sceneform plugin.
• In Android, Manifets.xml file adds permission for AR features in-app.
• Camera permission adds metadata to make it available for “Google Play Services for AR”.
• Attach the fragment that is made available by the Sceneform UX library.
• Get Sample model from poly.google.com.
• Under the App folder, create a folder sample data and paste the downloaded object and .mtl file. 

• Under res folder- create raw resources folder
• import sceneform asset (.sfb) in raw folder
• Jot down the code in MainActivity as shown in the tutorial.

Now, we have finally initialized the fragment, loaded a model, and attached the scene to the node.

• Now, run the App.

Libraries and Dependencies:

Sceneform 

Sceneform is basically a 3D framework. It makes the process of building ARCore applications easy and smooth, that too without OpenGL. In the project, we have used the 1.15.0 version of google.ar.sceneform.ux:sceneform-ux.

Permission

We are using, 

• Camera permission
• Internet permission, and 
• Hardware.camera.ar permission.

Output

You will see the astronaut model on the plain surface.

Target Industries

The applications of this project are readily targeted at the following industries:

• Gaming: Augmented Reality is being actively used in the gaming industry. For example – Pokemon Go

• E-commerce: Big brands like Ikea, Flipkart are also using AR apps to deliver better user experience.

• Education: The Edutech industry is using AR apps to make education more viable for the students.

• Design: Design and architechture has become easier and better with the AR approach.

• HealthTech: Ofcourse the health tech industry is using AR and it’s the best approach in a pandemic ridden world. Don’t you think?

• Military: And lastly, even the US military is using AR apps to train the new regiment with a better experience to deliver. How about that?

Challenges that we faced while working on the project

• When installed the Google Sceneform Tools plugin, after installation and restarting the IDE, we encountered an error.  

We saw this notification saying:

“Plugin Error: Plugin “Google Sceneform Tools (Beta)” is incompatible (supported only in IntelliJ IDEA).”

• Also, to move the model, we tried motion event and pinch gestures. We took the value that we received from pinch gesture detection and passed it in the parameters of motion event to move the 3D model. Unfortunately, this wasn’t a success. 

Future plan regarding the development of the project

Our future plan for this project is to move around the 3d model by a show of the fingers or hand gesture from a distance. Yes, without touching the screen. Wish us luck, will you!

Time Taken

It took us around 3-4 weeks to research, learn compile and bring forth the whole project.

Deprecation policy

• Apps that are built with ARCore SDK 1.12.0 or higher are surely covered by the Cloud Anchor API deprecation policy.

• Apps that are built with ARCore SDK 1.11.0 or lower cannot resolve or host Cloud Anchors. This is due to the SDK’s usage of an exhausted, deprecated ARCore Cloud Anchor service.

Conclusion

Augmented Reality is the future and the world is embracing it already. This is just a small attempt by us at TheCodeWork to integrate AR in mobile applications for the ease of doing business. 

We are on a journey to make the path to success much easier and viable for startups. So if you are an entrepreneur who needs a tech team or is stuck with an awesome business idea in mind, then do reach out to us at TheCodework. Because we are here for you!