e-Why, What & How · 2017-06-30

Apple’s ARKit framework lets developers create AR apps on iPhone – e-Why, What & How

Apple ARKitApple’s recent announcement about the availability of ARKit at their WWDC developers’ conference has the developer community in a huff. With it, apps will be able to overlay virtual objects in the physical world when looked at through your iPhone’s camera. The framework is still in beta & works on iOS 11, which will be released in the fall.

The framework was brought to people’s attention by the announcement of a tape measure app that went viral, which we recently covered in this publication (AR Measure). A lot of other ARKit apps are in the works & demos abound, like a virtual Titanic steamliner that you can overlay on your favorite beach or harbor, or a 1st person shooter that lets you shoot space invader-like monsters while you walk through your cubicle farm.

This tech, which uses a standard iPhone camera, is a leap beyond Google’s Tango project offering which depends on particular hardware & a bulky phone. So anyone with a recent model iPhone will be able to take advantage of it.

The magic behind ARKit is based on Visual Inertial Odometry (VIO), which will accurately track the world around you. VIO combines sensor data from the iPhone’s camera with the phone’s accelerometers, gyroscopes, etc. (CoreMotion), to let the device accurately sense how it moves through a room or other space, without need for calibration.

Your iPhone (or iPad) can then analyze the space around you as presented by the camera & detect horizontal & vertical planes, like tables & floors. ARKit will track & place all kinds of objects on these points & will correct for light conditions on the virtual objects that are placed.

All of this requires high performance hardware, so it comes at a price. You’ll need Apple A9 & A10 processors, which come with iPhone 6S & 7 models. These processors are fast enough to support “fast scene understanding” so detailed, compelling virtual content can be place on top of real-world scenes.

To get going with ARKit & start building apps, you’re going to need the latest iOS 11 & Xcode 9 betas, which will also include the iOS 11 SDK. ARKit also includes optimizations in Metal & SceneKit, as well as for game platforms like Unreal Engine & Unity.

Image Credit: Apple

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