Augmented Reality (AR) discovered a new era of technology with the root of the real and virtual world. AR was introduced in the period during which there were no fixed business models and designs, which made it very difficult to step inside the tech market.
In the 21st century, the demand for Augmented Reality has drastically risen up in the form of modeling and videos. Augmented Reality app development and gaming is an ultimate success in the market.
AR is no more than just a theoretical pore over in the universe of Computer Science – “…Wear the glasses and just experience it!” Simply we can say that Augmented reality is all about the objects and signage now!
The concept of Augmented Reality is stereotyped to be an entertainment technology, rather it has extended enough to capture the diverse industrial areas of healthcare, eCommerce, architecture, … and many other sectors. Further, brands such as Google, Microsoft, Apple, Coca-Cola, Zara, etc are in the vogue of optimizing AR, in order to market and advertise their products.
This has brought the tech world to a whole new space, where AR developers are in the premier demand to endow with applications as well as models ranging from gaming to architectural diligence.
Twittering into a broader spectrum, based on one of the reports from Tractica, the perpetual use cases for mobile AR will lead to an extension from 342.8 million unique monthly active users (MAUs) universally in 2016 to approximately 1.9 billion MAUs by 2022. Meanwhile, the market intelligence firm forecasted the worldwide mobile AR revenue climbing up from $749.0 million to $18.5 billion annually.
Quite revolutionizing, right? In 2020, investment in Augmented Reality will be just like adopting an impulsive technology that will eventually serve advanced content to computers, tablets, mobile phones, and many other gadgets. This means consumers are going to experience augmented reality at an enhanced level in the screens of variable size.
Sounds interesting, isn’t it? Yes, it is going to be even more fascinating in the forthcoming years. Before entering into trends of Augmented reality, let’s get introduced to the AR SDKs which exist in the market.
Classified SDKs of Augmented Reality
Transforming the physical space, Augmented reality is doing wonders with its thriving ecosystems. As the demand for AR is flourishing in the market, based on the precise requirements – Marker-based & Markerless AR.
Markerless AR is then further classified into Location-based, Projection-based, and Superimposition AR which comes out with triggering digital content.
Most of you must be curious to know, what exactly is Augmented Reality SDK?
So the answer to your question is here. A software development kit which is the core of the software engine powering the development and creation of any fresh built app and experiences is known to be AR SDK.
Now let’s have a quick look at the top SDKs of Augmented Reality which are transforming the real world.
Vuforia
Vuforia is a widely known cross-platformed Augmented Reality SDK, with its integration engineers build vision apps and games for android and iOS with a smooth workflow. Some of the features are listed down.
Features:
- In real-time, it permits one to recognize and track planar images along with 3D objects (geometry shapes and consumer products).
- Creates Markerless image targets
- Performs text recognition for over 1,00,000 words of English vocabulary.
- Works on device and cloud detection
- Allows running Playback Videos
- SDK consists of virtual buttons, which turn various surfaces over the touch screens.
- Provides API in Java, C++, Objective C++, .Net via Unity Game Engine.
Why Vuforia?
- Vuforia Engine provides a wide range of cross-platform AR content, recently emerging with Mixed Reality.
- Augmented Reality developers can easily add enhanced computer vision functionalities to Android, iOS, and UWP, to provide realistic experiences to the viewers, and users.
- Content can be flawlessly developed for digital devices such as – mobile phones, tablets, and eyewear.
- Available in the market of quite reasonable worth.
Apple ARKit
Apple ARKit is the platform specifically built for the iOS platform. It is not surprising to find Apple’s huge interest in Augmented reality but it has for sure contributed a lot to the progressive and attractive AR app and Games development with ARKit. Let’s have a glance to acknowledge the properties of Apple ARKit.
Features:
- Compatible to run on processors A9 or above.
- Shortcuts to display of USDZ files of Virtual objects 3D or AR.
- Developers can embed incredible details even reflections of the real world surrounding in virtual shiny objects.
- Robust and stable motion tracking.
- In-built SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) tracking system.
- Plane evaluation with basic boundaries.
- Additionally, Apple ARKit supports Unity, Unreal, and SceneKit.
Why Apple ARKit?
- Apple ARKit is a native platform.
- Quick motion tracking, object detection of all the models
- High performing hardware
- Content creation for iPad or MacOS to build AR ecosystems beyond imagination.
- Available in the market as an open-sourced software.
Google ARCore
Google AR Core is the other most promising SDK for creating AR content. This platform is specifically built by Google which allows engineers to integrate the real world with the virtual world which is the trending and the upcoming interactive technology. Let’s take a look over the features in brief.
Features:
Stating the virtual content, there are three core capabilities to integrate your apps and games:
- Tracking the motion of the real world
- Detection of size and almost all types of surface locations such as horizontal, vertical, and angled of all kind of object models.
- Estimation of light according to the environment’s current lighting situation.
Why Google ARCore?
ARCore has a quite mature SDK which stable to present motion and detection of friendly mobile applications.
- Identifies interesting points known to be features of the moving objects too.
- With combined movements of featured points and readings with the help of mobile sensors determining both orientation and position by AR Core.
- Supports Android version 7.0 and later once.
- Affordable building platform
Maxst
Maxst, an edge-cutting Augmented Reality platform, assisting millions of developers in creating interactive content transforming the real world into the stylish and unbelievable virtual world. Assisting in all three areas – AR app development, AR Remote Collaboration System, and AR Operation Process. Let’s witness Maxst’s extra-beneficial features.
Features:
- Absolutely robust, reliable, and reasonable SDK
- Instant tracking property that detects the planes via mobile camera, when aimed at any free space.
- Visual SLAM engine, extracting features as well as surrounding tracks that are saved in a map file.
- Object, Marker, and image tracking of real-world objects or planes transforming into augmented virtual items.
- Cloud-based image recognition services
- Enabled QR code/ barcode tracker
Why Maxst?
Worldwide setting a newest and youngest era of Augmented reality, Maxst has offered –
- Dynamic and powerful performance with smart algorithm minimizing memory usage
- All-in-one functionality for producing great AR content
- Cross-platform support, this means flexible-environment
- Additionally one can insert an external camera too.
- One can use it for development at an affordable price
Wikitude
Wikitude, our last but the most popular AR platform empowering your iOS, Android, smart glasses with powerful guidance to convert real-life experiences into augmented ones. Here we peep and know about some features.
Features:
- Enables to work with geo AR, object, and image tracking.
- SLAM enabled instant tracking property.
- Works with multiple frameworks ranging from Native APIs to Unity.
- The cloud-based target for large-scale AR projects.
- Code-free AR content buildup
Why Wikitude?
Reasons for choosing Wikitude are right here-
- Delivers quite feasible contents
- Simpler than implementing the market-based approach
- Stable image recognition for at most 1000 images at once.
- Dedicated server option
- Affordable SDK and easy to learn.
Seeing that the young minds’ interest is shifting towards the hottest technology related to the virtualized world, a list of SDKs related to Augmented Reality is growing vast, with no pause in the vicinity of the future. If read carefully, you might have observed some uniqueness and powerful capabilities that are successful in building AR apps and games integrating with gadgets. But doubts are obvious to bang our heads, right?
After reading the listed AR software development kits, a few engineers new to this area might get hit by a question- which one would be the right one for AR app and game development?
Let’s just read out a few important points which one should check before opting for Augmented Reality SDK.
How Should We Pick the Right Augmented Reality SDK?
Augmented Reality is the next trendsetter. And we cannot deny the wonders AR is doing in the present.
Many gaming enthusiasts and VFX lovers who are creative enough, slowly shifting to the Augmented Reality development industry.
Boosting their interest, here are some bullet criteria that will help you to choose the right SDK for the first app or game.
- Check the license type. This is vital and the first point which one should remember before starting with the development. Commercial License will ensure that your paid SDK will contribute additional functions and libraries for apps.
- Ensure that your SDK supports multiplatform. Compatibility with multiple platforms such as Android, iOS, and UWP will allow your app or game to reach worldwide on different devices. This means a better business platform.
- SDK with Gadget-friendly property will lead to a better future for your app. Definitely, this will allow you to integrate the apps or games with the future device or gadget of your choice. Exciting isn’t it?
- Unity responsive platform will lead to the spontaneous and robust quality of gaming. With this feature, you can add graphics to your mobile apps, also the gaming content can be created for computers of all sizes without getting fail.
- A feature like Cloud recognition will help to save a lot of space on your device. Also, this will turn your app capable of recognizing the different markers which will allow you to create an outstanding AR experience.
- SDK with local recognition, the markers will be stored right in the portable device users. This means no need to go online for using the app.
- 3D tracking feature will let you trace 2D 3D objects which will let your app recognize different shapes.
- For location-based commercial apps, a Geolocation tracker plays a vital role. SDK with this feature will be helpful for apps and games to pin the location of places of interest of the user.
- SDK with SLAM is just like adding the cherry on the cake, which stands for Simultaneous Localization and Mapping. As the name suggests, this is used majorly when the map is created, which has made indoor navigation possible. The feature has a quality of tracking environment and tracing their own movement on the map.
Now let us peep in the latest industrial trends of 2020 and acknowledge how AR in recent times is benefiting the industry to grow powerful.
Industrial Trends and Development: Augmented Reality Highlights 2020
The industry is flooding with technologies every minute. Augmented Reality is undoubtedly taking over the applications, games, and even gadgets with the widest spread in the diverse industry. According to reports by IDC (International Data Corporation) of 2019, worldwide expending on augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/VR) is anticipated to be $18.8 billion in 2020, with an increase of 78.5% over the $10.5 billion spent in 2019.
After 2019, few data also revealed that Augmented Reality along with Virtual Reality has achieved its first milestone by manufacturing products and shipping them across the world.
According to IDC research, 96.6% of the entire market rendered VR headsets and entirely grew 27.2% from the preceding year.
During this duration, there was an increase in shipments of AR headsets by 1.9% during 2019Q1 and headed up to 43.2K. Sony, Facebook, HTC, Pico, and 3Glasses were the international brands manufacturing VR headsets.
The popularly known multinationals in this quarter involved the AR front, Epson, Lenovo, Vuzix, Google, and RealWear.
The affiliation is not only limited to gadgets, but it has also covered fashion, social media, education, and many more benefits on the basis of revenue, trade, projects, and creativity.
Let’s comprehend some upcoming highlights of AR affecting industries.
AR Collaborating Social Media
Social media with AR has become the most interesting platform today. From uploading pictures with customized filters, uploading stories with gifs on it to lenses, and games for brand awareness, AR has shown its popping feature. Brands like Coca-cola, Snapchat, Instagram, Hike, Facebook are bringing lots of AR games, fun filter cameras, etc to embrace their products.
AR Emerging Education
Augmented reality has taken over even in the field of education. Students from the area of biology can now study Anatomy.
Engineers from Architecture can study 3D modeling for construction. Kids can watch various videos related to different subjects which will be more like the real world.
Automation and design have been a book journey to date, but now Automation engineers can study mechanics and design via AR modeling.
However, parents have their own concerns. How the AR is going to affect the study pattern of their children? And the answer to this question is right here.
Students from different educational areas will be able to gain better visualization capability, right immersion, concentration, and understanding, of the subject.
Another important query arises, that why AR is a great solution to education? If you have the same doubt, check out your answer from Augmented reality for the education sector.
AR with Artificial Intelligence
No doubt, AI and ML have the highest demand in the market. Along with AI/ML, the industry in 2020 is all about experimenting with AR. Innovation is leaning over a dynamic chatbot, spontaneous advertisements, healthcare, education just like smart classes, etc- combining AR with AI/ML conducting apps and games.
AR Driving Navigation Solutions
Maps have become the topmost necessity whether indoors or outdoors to provide navigations in hospitals, malls, colleges, stadiums, local roads, and even airports.
ARCore and ARKit are successful in featuring all the necessary properties by integrating them with Google Maps and Apple Map is still in the queue to add AR View in the forthcoming year so that the customers can navigate and explore the places in a detailed manner.
AR Simplifying & Novelizing the Shopping
Shopping is the choice of men, women, and kids of all ages. Trends in shopping are getting enhanced by the retail industries.
Smart mirror, makeup recognition, brick-and-mortar shopping experiences are some of the AR inclined technologies which you will find when coming across a few popular brands. Of course! virtual assistants just turn up the shopping experience.
With such amazing AR technologies, you will be surprised in 2020. Revolution is about to take place, and AR is absolutely the cutting-edge business solution to grab the attention of the market.
After all, the market is quite competitive, and in this race, it’s important to select the top technology and AR is rising day by day. Are you seeking for AR app development business solution or game development?
In this hustle, the Mobile App & Game development company takes you one step closer to the business by providing completely innovative and trusted AR engineers. Our creative developers will help you to build solutions for retail, brand awareness, artificial intelligence, social media, travel, and tourism… to bring out success in your business.