Augmented Reality has arrived a long way from the imagination and conceptual world. Nowadays, things have changed and the imagination comes true with the Augmented Reality which is in your mobiles itself. It provides a view of virtually real objects which are generated by computerized inputs. It is a mixture of real-world environment and virtual world objects. AR has many types of applications, such as image scanning, surface recognition, GPS tracking, a projection based and superimposition based on different AR SDKs. Here we are discussing the surface recognition augmented reality.
Markerless AR
A technology that places a digital 3D content over real world’s environment by detecting the surface or we can say that placing the digitally created 3D objects over the real-world surface without having any previous knowledge of the environment. Markerless AR recognizes the flat surfaces which are unknown to the application and show the virtual things over it.
SLAM Technology
SLAM(Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) is an instant tracking which provides you a facility for placing 3D objects inside or outside without any marker. It makes the real world like a playground through the augmented reality applications.
| AR Kit | AR Core |
| Apple’s Platform | Google’s Platform |
| Launched in June 2017 | Launched in August 2017 |
| For IOS devices | For Android devices |
| Uses for surface Visual Inertial Odometry (VIO) detection | Uses Platform dependent techniques for surface detection |
How surface detection AR works:
- Motion Tracking: Motion tracking technology is a way to live view the 3D elements appear to inhabit the real world using the camera of a device. Camera identify surface points, called features, and tracks those points to move over time.
- Environmental Understanding: AR SDK allows the device to capture plane surfaces like a ground, flat table, etc., and place 3D objects in a way that it merges broadloom with the real world.
- Light Estimation: Estimate the average lighting in the captured flat area for showing a proper model with lightning and shading.
Implementation Areas of Surface Detection AR
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- Gaming and Entertainment: If you want to play with a single 3D object or want to build a full-fledged 3D game with your own concept in the real world, then Augmented Reality’s surface detection technology allows you to do so. Adding virtual 3D effects in short entertainment clips is also possible with Marker-less AR.
- Mercantile Plan and Design: Whether you are planning to set up a new office space, retail store temperament, or an architectural project, Markerless AR technology enables wonderful interactive AR experiences for your application.
- Advertising: Product demonstration or product processing techniques display in the customer’s environment, is the best way to advertise a product and increase its selling.
- AR for IOT: Integration of augmented reality in complex IoT systems in just a few steps. Use Object Recognition (marker), Extended Tracking (marker) or Instant Tracking (markerless) to monitor machinery performance, assist maintenance processes, visualize data and optimize operations.
- AR in VR: By using the pass-through mode of VR device we can open the camera of the smartphone. Through this camera, we can detect the user’s plane and place a 3D object. It will give a wider and clear view of the object and seems like actually having the 3D model in front of the user.
Limitations:
Although AR is rapidly increasing its scope in Technological World, it has some barriers too which can slow down the speedy growth.
- Technical Limitation: The flash of light affects the surface tracking for which the camera needs to capture the specific featured points of the objects and environment properly. AR fails to capture in dim lights resulting in the improper view of digital objects.
- Device dependency: The user experience may vary based on the quality of the camera sensor which is not equal in every device
- Privacy Issues: While addressing the privacy concerns, the cyber attacks come into existence where user’s personal information(user’s photo, name and other details) entered in the AR applications may be misused.