Augmented Reality (AR) Prototype
- allazarr
- Jan 18, 2021
- 5 min read
Updated: Jan 20, 2021
This prototype application is based on solid research in the Augmented Reality market and the production stages of the project.
Augmented reality got so many developers excited about its capabilities and applicability in our daily life. Many companies got engaged with the concept in their marketing campaigns exploring new possibilities and areas of immersion. This prototype is inspired by the Houzz App. Houzz is an application that allows you to previsualize the furniture you will buy and to fit it in your own house. Similar applications have been developed by big businesses to showcase their variety of items. Ikea, Amazon, and John Lewis are only a few of these brands which embraced the AR technology.
The creation of this prototype has been a process of development and experimentation with immersive technologies in the last few years. Projection mapping was a subject that always interested me. Trying to develop the technical skills I have often experimented with Isadora and Mad Mapper on different projection surfaces.
Dome projection was one of the first immersive projection mappings I have tried.
I have enjoyed using Isadora and Mad Mapper for the freedom of creating a digital world without using a headset. The viewer has been transported into a new world around him. The projections were interacting with sound and movement inside the dome to completely immerse the viewer.
The surface of the dome was touch-sensitive and it could shuffle or change the scale of the projection. This effect was realized using an Xbox Depth Sensor hooked up to Isadora.
Media installations got my interest since I have discovered Arron Sherwoof's project called "Micro". "MICRO delves into a world we cannot see, but is the very fabric of reality, the world of atoms, sub-atomic particles, and quantum fluctuation. It's a world of incomprehensible mystery, but one we experience every moment of our lives, even if we don’t realize it. To journey within is to experience this reality. MICRO enables people to take that journey. Together, the participants recreate this world where particles, waves, and vibrating energy are all interchangeable states. " (Arron Sherwood, 2015)
This project is based on touch-sensitive sensors that trigger a reaction to a colored bulb each time it is touched. Additionally, a sound is played enhancing the overall experience. His work inspired me to create a similar project called "Project UNO". My project was everything about unity and cooperation. In addition to the main idea of the installation, it was made of fully recyclable materials to promote our message even further.
I have used Arduino chips to code the installation and steelwool to act as an electrical conductor. Using C Sharp coding I successfully programmed the installation to recognize the touch and presence of the audience in the room. The installation would be completely turned off when the room was empty but as soon as someone entered the room it will start pulsing in different colors. If someone touched one of the plastic butles, the main LED started shifting colors. Depending on how many participants were interacting at the same time with the installation, the colors were shifting faster.
Finally, my portfolio of experimentation and creativity adds one more prototype to the collection. Three months ago I started experimenting with Augmented Reality. The whole excitement of the new AR glasses caught my attention when it was first announced last year. However, I never had the chance to explore more of the new AR technology. As I explained at the beginning of this post, I have been interested in Augmented Furniture as the big brands call it.
I wanted to explore the concept of having a digital piece of furniture constantly near me. I chose to create a satisfying decoration to suit any desk. My prototype is a corner of a digital portal that can transport the viewer into a world of relaxation for a second. The work itself is inspired by the Kinetic Orbital Globe which uses counterweights to create an endless movement illusion. The construction of the prototype started in a blender where I modeled and carefully place each mesh at an exact 90 degrees angle. Each ball had assigned a specific weight and trajectory in order to perfectly fit the small gap in the spinning circle. I have animated each individual mesh in a perfect loop of 280 frames. I wanted to look like a real object so I have started creating the handle and the wood pad in order to be more realistic and immersive. For the texturing, I used common materials such as wood and steel to give my structure a much organic feel. Once the building, texturing, and animation process were done I started building the main engine of the project, the AR Core. Unreal Engine 4 was the perfect tool for creating the animation having already preinstalled presets to guide you through the process. I have used the Augmented reality preset available in the engine to give me an overview of the project I will create. Trying to assemble the scene in UE4, I run into some compatibility problems between the animation and the basic functions of the AR preset. Having not enough experience with Unreal I could not solve the compatibility problems, so I have moved on to create the AR Core of the application myself from scratch.
Using YouTube tutorials from Dev Enabled and Unreal Engine Live Traning sessions I have successfully established a solid configuration for my Augmented Reality Application. The following 2 videos are documenting my process of creation of the prototype.
This video shows the building and animating process inside Blender 2.91.0
This video shows my process of building the AR Core inside Unreal Engine 4.
The current state of the project is still under development and it can not be run as a stand-alone app. The device running the AR simulation needs to be constantly powered by the Unreal Engine. After optimizing the application furthermore, I could finally visualize my animated mesh in Augmented Reality on my desk.
Once stable and finished, the project can be sold as an asset for future AR universes. Once Apple Glasses will launch for the general public, more and more assets will be requested from developers in order to populate the new digital world. Similar to Virtual Reality, new worlds of relaxation and spiritual connections will be created where similar digital pieces will be used to serve the general purpose of the experiences. Art galleries, recreational rooms, and meetings will be the concept of digital holograms which science fiction spoke about years ago, and we, the artists need to be ready to embrace this new change with immersive and invitational solutions.
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