What is ARCore? All you need to know

Augmented reality (Eng. Augmented Reality , the AR )) has come a long way from the concept of science fiction to something more realistic. Recently, the cost of AR-development has dropped dramatically, and today it is available even on a regular smartphone.

Both Apple and Google are investing impressive resources in the development of augmented reality, as evidenced by the development of ARkit (from Apple) and ARCore (from Google). These innovative technologies allowed ordinary developers to work with AR, which was unthinkable a few years ago.

According to this article on HackerNoon , by 2025 the volume of augmented and virtual reality in the healthcare industry will be about $ 5 billion . In addition, a major leap in the use of AR-technologies will occur in the tourism industry, since 84% of users around the world will be interested in using AR while traveling.

What does this mean for you as a developer?

When AR promises to turn the world around us into a sci-fi film, for us, the developers, this means the growth of a new technical sphere with new job opportunities and substantial salaries. So, today we will plunge into the world of HYIP augmented reality and find out what is actually happening there and how you can start AR development.

We will focus on ARCore , a platform from Google for creating augmented reality applications without the need for in-depth knowledge of OpenGL, rendering, etc.

What is ARCore?

According to Wikipedia , ARCore is a software development tool developed by Google that allows you to create augmented reality applications.

ARCore uses three key technologies to “embed” virtual content into the real environment:

1. Motion tracking : it allows a smartphone to understand its position in the real world.
2. Understanding the environment : it allows the smartphone to determine the size and location of all types of surfaces (vertical, horizontal and angular).
3. Illumination score : this allows the smartphone to evaluate the current environmental lighting conditions.

How does ARCore work?

Have you ever wondered why most augmented reality applications require you to move the camera around the room to detect surfaces in it? This is necessary in order for the application to build its own virtual world based on the physical. ARCore is no different.

When you move your phone, ARCore remembers the environment and builds its own world in which it can place virtual objects. It also uses motion tracking technology to determine how some objects move, taking into account the movements of your camera.

That's why when you place a virtual object in your room, go out and return, the object is still there. ARCore has built his virtual world in which he remembers where every detail is.

When you place an object in this space, ARCore calculates its position relative to other objects, and when you return to the same place, the object is displayed again.

Who can use ARCore?

Right now the ARCore SDK is available for:

1. Android
2. Android NDK
3. Unity for Android
4. Unity for iOS
5. iOS
6. Unreal

This list is quite comprehensive and covers the needs of most developers. Google has a quick start guide for each of them.

ARCore for Android

Google has taken care of all Android developers, and it doesn't matter if you use the Android SDK, Android NDK or Unity for Android development. ARCore supports them all.

In this brief tutorial shows you how to set up your development environment, including ARCore and run a simple application. ARCore uses the Sceneform SDK, which is a 3D framework that allows Java developers to easily create ARCore applications without OpenGL.