Augmented Reality for Developers: Build practical augmented reality applications with Unity, ARCore, ARKit, and Vuforia

Build exciting AR applications on mobile and wearable devices with Unity 3D, Vuforia, ARToolKit, Microsoft Mixed Reality HoloLens, Apple ARKit, and Google ARCore

About This Book

• Create unique AR applications from scratch, from beginning to end, with step-by-step tutorials
• Use Unity 3D to efficiently create AR apps for Android, iOS, and Windows platforms
• Use Vuforia, ARTookKit, Windows Mixed Reality, and Apple ARKit to build AR projects for a variety of markets
• Learn best practices in AR user experience, software design patterns, and 3D graphics

Who This Book Is For

The ideal target audience for this book is developers who have some experience in mobile development, either Android or iOS. Some broad web development experience would also be beneficial.

What You Will Learn

• Build Augmented Reality applications through a step-by-step, tutorial-style project approach
• Use the Unity 3D game engine with the Vuforia AR platform, open source ARToolKit, Microsoft's Mixed Reality Toolkit, Apple ARKit, and Google ARCore, via the C# programming language
• Implement practical demo applications of AR including education, games, business marketing, and industrial training
• Employ a variety of AR recognition modes, including target images, markers, objects, and spatial mapping
• Target a variety of AR devices including phones, tablets, and wearable smartglasses, for Android, iOS, and Windows HoloLens
• Develop expertise with Unity 3D graphics, UIs, physics, and event systems
• Explore and utilize AR best practices and software design patterns

In Detail

Augmented Reality brings with it a set of challenges that are unseen and unheard of for traditional web and mobile developers. This book is your gateway to Augmented Reality development-not a theoretical showpiece for your bookshelf, but a handbook you will keep by your desk while coding and architecting your first AR app and for years to come.

The book opens with an introduction to Augmented Reality, including markets, technologies, and development tools. You will begin by setting up your development machine for Android, iOS, and Windows development, learning the basics of using Unity and the Vuforia AR platform as well as the open source ARToolKit and Microsoft Mixed Reality Toolkit. You will also receive an introduction to Apple's ARKit and Google's ARCore! You will then focus on building AR applications, exploring a variety of recognition targeting methods. You will go through multiple complete projects illustrating key market sectors including business marketing, education, industrial training, and gaming.

By the end of the book, you will have gained the necessary knowledge to make quality content appropriate for a range of AR devices, platforms, and intended uses.

Style and approach

This book adopts a practical, step-by-step, tutorial-style approach. The design principles and methodology will be explained by creating different modules of the AR app.

Jonathan Linowes is principal at Parkerhill Reality Labs, an immersive media Indie studio. He is a veritable 3D graphics enthusiast, Unity developer, successful entrepreneur, and teacher. He has a fine arts degree from Syracuse University and a master's degree from the MIT Media Lab. He has founded several successful startups and held technical leadership positions at major corporations, including Autodesk Inc. He is the author of other books and videos by Packt, including Unity Virtual Reality Projects (2015) and Cardboard VR Projects for Android (2016).

Krystian Babilinski is an experienced Unity developer with extensive knowledge in 3D design. He has been developing professional AR/VR applications since 2015. He led Babilin Applications, a Unity Design group that promotes open source development and engages with the the Unity community. Krystian now leads the development at Parkerhill Reality Labs, which recently published Power Solitaire VR, a multiplatform VR game.