Tag: Wikitude

Categories
AR features

Markerless AR: how and where to use it

Markerless AR explained

Markerless AR functionality allows developers to create digital applications that overlay interactive augmentations on physical surfaces, without the need for a marker.

We can all agree that computer vision is a key part of the future of augmented reality, mobile or not. That’s why we’ve been working so hard on our Instant Tracking over the last years. If you are not yet familiar with this feature, Instant Tracking creates the perfect digital recreation of real world things anytime, anywhere without the user having to scan any image.

Instant Tracking is also the first feature using Wikitude’s Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) technology. SLAM identifies the user’s precise location within an unknown environment by simultaneously mapping the area during the Instant Tracking AR experience.

This allows developers to easily map environments and display augmented reality content without the need for target images or objects (markers). Wikitude’s SLAM markerless augmented reality tracking is one of the most versatile cross-platform 3D-tracking systems available for mobile.

Our SDK also offers its own SLAM Instant Tracking technology which can be dynamically connected to ARKit and ARCore (Wikitude SMART). SMART is a seamless API which integrates ARKit, ARCore and Wikitude’s SLAM engine in a single cross-platform AR SDK.

This feature helps developers create their projects in either JavaScript, Unity, Xamarin, PhoneGap, and Flutter without the need toto deal with specific ARKit/ARCore code. SMART dynamically identifies the end user’s device and decides if ARKit, ARCore or Wikitude SLAM should be used for each particular case.

Here are some interesting use cases for Wikitude’s markerless augmented reality feature:

Where you need to grab someone’s attention, immediately

Getting someone to look at your product is the first step of a good marketing strategy. For both marketing and retail implementations, augmented reality offers immense opportunity to do that. It’s new, easy to understand, and impossible to ignore.

Do you know the first time most of the living population saw the concept of augmented reality (although they probably didn’t know it then)? This scene with Michael J Fox in Back to the Future II.

Maybe it’s not as slick and refined as today’s visual effects, but back in 1989, it was certainly surprising – and attention-grabbing. That’s part of the way AR still works today – especially for the next couple years as wide-spread adoption still continues to grow. The most important thing to remember? If you truly surprise someone, they’ll be sure to tell everyone they know all about it.

The potential here for both retail outlets (online and in physical world) is clear – customers can interact directly with the product, and come as close they can to touching and feeling it without having it in their actual hands.

Even more opportunity exists in the gaming and entertainment – check how Socios.com gives sport fans an opportunity to collect crypto tokens, earn reward points and unlock experiences with their favorite sport clubs.

When you need to add one small piece of information

AR is at its best when it does just what it says: augment. AR can turn your phone into a diagnostic tool of unparalleled power – perceptive and reactive, hooked into the infinite database of the world wide web.

Adding a few, small, easy to understand bits of information to a real scene can simply help our mind process information so much more quickly – and clearly. Here’s a great example where an automobile roadside assistance service can help a customer diagnose a problem – without actually being anywhere on the roadside.

The opportunities here are endless – factory floor managers, warehouse workers, assembly-line technicians – anyone who needs real-time information, in a real-world setting. It’s a huge technological leap forward for the enterprise – just like when touchscreen mobile devices with third-party apps first appeared.

Where you need to show a physical object in relation to other objects

There’s a reason this idea keeps coming up – it solves a real-world problem, instantly, today.
Architecture, interior design – any creative profession that works in real world spaces can take advantage of augmented reality.

From visualizing artworks or virtually fitting furniture in your living room , the benefit here is clear – we can understand how potential real-world space will look and function so much better when we can actually see the objects we’re thinking of putting there – while we are there.

This last bit is why mobile AR is so important – if we want to make AR a practical technology, we have to be able to use it where we live, work, build and play, and we don’t want to drag a computer (or at least, a computer larger than your smartphone) everywhere we go to do it.

Here’s an example of placing designer clothing in a real-world setting, done by ARe app and powered by Wikitude:

Opening up an endless opportunity to showcase products of any size (from industrial machines to cars and jewellery), markerless AR enables a new level of shopping experience, that can take place directly on the customer’s mobile device at any time. Such options as 360 degrees product viewer, custom features annotations and 24/7 access allows customers to configure and compare products, communicate with merchants and shop in the comfort of their homes.

So be creative in your AR applications – and do something surprising. Developers all over the world are already using Wikitude technology to build AR apps that grab attention and customers – and it’s already making their lives easier.

Markerless AR infographic

Want to dig in deeper? We’ve collected a few of our favorite use cases in the infographic and a list of apps already using the technology on this YouTube playlist. Have a look and see what inspires you to make something inspiring! 

Looking how to get started with Markerless AR?

Interested in creating an AR project of your own?
Talk to one of our specialists and learn how to get started.

Contact The Wikitude Team
Categories
News

Augmenting the future: interview with Martin Herdina

Martin Herdina talks about Wikitude joining the Qualcomm family, growing together with the developer community, and why the future of augmented reality is headworn.

Running a start-up needs strong vision, grit, and persistence. Running an augmented reality start-up? Double that up and mix in a profound belief in an extraordinary team that can accomplish anything.



It started with a vision

Thirteen years ago, we set out on a mission to pioneer the augmented reality industry. As a team of engineers, researchers, product and business people from all walks of life, we came together under the Wikitude’s roof to pursue our curiosity and see what happens if we take another step towards our vision.

Our belief has always been that AR will drastically shape the future of how we consume information, and we worked hard to make that vision a reality.

Our belief has always been that augmented reality will shape the future of how we consume information, and we worked hard to make that vision a reality.


A fair share of wins (some smaller, some larger) in the market showed us that we are on the right path (even though things have been tough sometimes). Wikitude spearheaded the industry when we launched the world’s first mobile AR app. We’ve created tools that have become the go-to technology for developers worldwide.

Using our AR SDK, Wikitude customers and developers applied augmented reality across industry verticals, creating billions of apps and use cases. Through community’s tireless efforts, our vision of augmented reality has been taking shape!



The ultimate dream

But the final frontier was still ahead – not only making augmented reality accessible for everyone but turning it into the most natural experience that hardware can allow. Since 2013, when Wikitude started supporting wearable devices, we’ve been dreaming of headworn AR.

While smartphones serve as an important step, smart glasses would completely remove the friction of looking down on the small screen.


And this is where Qualcomm steps in. The company plays a special role in the XR ecosystem, having continuously shown interest in the XR segment, investing in the next generation of chips and reference hardware. We’ve been working together since 2019, integrating our AR SDK into Snapdragon® XR Platform, showing a glimpse of how the next generation of spatial computing will look like.

Now, when augmented reality hardware and technology have advanced to the point where both started to gain commercial traction, we are excited to join forces and accelerate the enablement of custom experiences powering the next generation of AR glasses. It’s a very exciting journey ahead, where together we’ll set the stage for a thriving AR ecosystem and mass-market adoption.

The future of AR is headworn

For years, we’ve been tailoring our SDK to support a number of headworn devices to enable flawless tracking and help users discover the potential headworn AR experiences can bring.

Why headworn? We believe it provides a basis to experience the true immersiveness that augmented reality is all about. Something that no smartphone can ever bring. Using AR headsets, users can see the augmented world around the same way they experience the real world. See-through displays allow a wide field of view while you have your hands free and can freely move around, collaborate, work and play with immersive experiences.

Using AR headsets, users can see augmented world around the same way they experience the real word.


The absence of friction headworn AR can provide will pave the way to the metaverse, where we will eventually interact and socialize, just like we do in the real world (plus the endless opportunities the digital universe can bring).

Driving adoption
While the expectations for AR hardware grow and the industry slowly gets to the point of meeting customer expectations, we believe that the world won’t switch to all-in-one AR devices in the nearest future. Instead, we are leaning in on the approach Qualcomm Technologies takes in connecting a lightweight viewer device to the smartphone that provides ultra-low-power technology with advanced rendering.

Powered by 5G, this is a pragmatic step toward enabling headworn AR tomorrow, making the innovation accessible for everyone who can’t wait to experience headworn AR.


What’s next?
Having become a part of the Qualcomm family, Wikitude will continue doing what we do best–working on our cutting-edge AR SDK and growing a thriving developer community. Our expertise in well-designed AR experiences, robust tools and strong knowledge of our developer audience and Qualcomm Technologies XR innovation will help strengthen the XR sector and accelerate the enablement of custom AR experiences as the toolkit of choice for headworn AR glasses.

United in the horizontal-platform approach, we share the vision of running a platform for headworn AR that will open up endless opportunities. And Wikitude developers will be the first to make a difference and start creating and experimenting with the new tools.

Introducing Snapdragon Spaces




Today we are unveiling a new beginning: Snapdragon Spaces™ XR Developer Platform. This developer-first platform is tailored to remove friction for developers and unlock the full potential of wearable immersive AR.

Backed by Wikitude’s 9th generation AR technology and Qualcomm Technologies leadership in the XR ecosystem, Snapdragon Spaces XR Developer Platform paves the way to a new frontier of spatial computing and empowers developers to create experiences for AR glasses that transform spaces around us.

Learn more about Snapdragon Spaces XR Developer Platform to stay in the know

Snapdragon and Snapdragon Spaces are products of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries.

Categories
Digital agencies

5 tips to help pitch AR for your next project

How to pitch AR

Tips for agencies and developers to successfully pitch AR to clients and potential customers.

You get it – AR is incredibly cool, and most definitely the wave of the future – but your client might still be wondering if it’s time to ride the AR wave.

Have you pinpointed an excellent use-case for AR within a client’s project? We want to give you a few tips and suggest tools you can use to help get them on board. As a bonus, you will have an additional product for your portfolio you can really be proud of!

1. Explain the added value

Let’s talk about flash – and not the Adobe kind. Sizzle, wow-factor, attention-grabber, whatever you want to call it, AR has it.

It not only lets you see more of the world around you – it skyrockets user engagement with interactive content. A customized AR-experience is one of the most attention-grabbing features an app can offer.

For a little extra inspiration for your speech, check out 7 ways to use augmented reality in marketing today.

2. Demonstrate return of investment (ROI)

You’re a business, and they’re a business – the extra spending has to be justified.

The easiest way to do that? Show them a clear example of how AR can be linked directly to revenue – like in this video below from Takondi, one of Wikitude’s premium partners. Watch to see how easily AR can be used to implement mobile commerce.

There are a bunch of ways augmented reality can help businesses make more money. Here are a few of our favorites:

  • e-commerce – directly link real-world items to purchases
  • In-game purchases in an AR environment – you’ve seen the success of Pokémon Go – and remember virtual products have an excellent margin
  • Location-based deals – let users explore top deals near them (and guide them there)
  • Time-sensitive offers – reach people at the right time with the right offer
  • Augmented shopping – make every print material your user’s check out button
    Offer enhanced multimedia about products using 2D and 3D recognition
  • Premium apps – offer an entirely in-app shopping experience!

3. Show the future of AR with facts

When Google, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft start heavily investing in augmented reality, it is safe to assume the tech is not only on the rise but on the verge of something great.

To have an idea of the current predictions, Digi-Capital’s long-term virtual and augmented reality forecast is for the AR/VR market to reach around $65 billion revenue by 2024. And Worldwide spending on AR/VR products and services throughout the 2019-2023 forecast period, should achieve a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 77.0% (IDC).

Access this AR facts and predictions article for more data. And for real-world examples, note that “Pokémon Go, once a viral sensation all over the globe, hasn’t fallen off the map. In fact, the augmented reality game is earning more money than it ever has before. According to mobile analytics firm Sensor Tower, Pokémon Go had a record year in 2019, taking in an estimated $900 million through in-app purchases.” – via the Verge.

Image: Sensor Tower

4. Highlight the simplicity of the tech

Excuse us while we toot our own horn, but, making AR easy is what we do. The Wikitude AR SDK is one of the most versatile tools available for developing mobile AR. Want to build your own Pokémon-Go-like app? You can do it with Wikitude in three easy steps.

5. …and most importantly, show a demo

Seeing is believing. So why not show your clients the great things they can do with AR? It’s a lot easier to want something you can see right in front of you. So the best and most important advice when you’re pitching AR? Show them a demo. Here are a few tips for doing that!

  • It’s best done live – find an AR app, either your own or from another company, and show it during an in-person meeting. If this means bringing the tools with you (like a magazine or product) bring them with you!
  • Undersell, overshow – a good AR project speaks for itself. Rather than building up expectations, casually throw it out there – “Oh, have I shown you this cool trick?” *whips out phone*
  • Make sure it’s going to work! Do you need decent cellular data or Wifi? Nothing impresses less than stalled technology. Check your connection before you move forward
  • And speaking of demos – remember, you can always use the Wikitude trial license to win over your client!
Create a free AR DEMO

Categories
Media-Reports News

Lenovo New Vision and Wikitude to Pioneer AI, AR and Big Data

Santa Clara, U.S. – June 1, 2017 – Today at Augmented World Expo, Wikitude and Lenovo New Vision, a subsidiary of Lenovo focused on AR, announced a collaboration to develop an Augmented Human (AH) Cloud. This venture will improve industrial professionals’ knowledge and capabilities by using Augmented Reality, Artificial Intelligence, and big data to change how they work.

The companies will create a fully-integrated AR and AH Cloud application platform using Wikitude’s intelligent recognition engine and Markerless SLAM technology with LNV’s remote video application (Kepler), workflow and 3D AR content edit tool (Titan), and deep learning recognition system (Martin). Combining this with Lenovo New Vision’s smart glasses will create a true Industry 4.0 device + cloud platform powered by AR. IDC forecasts AH Cloud technology along with ubiquitous sensing, wearable computing, IoT, and artificial intelligence will be mainstream in the mid-2020s.

Wikitude’s CEO Martin Herdina said: “We’re extremely excited about this partnership with Lenovo New Vision as it creates a fantastic proposition never before in this market. Combining world-leading AR and AI technologies and leveraging the core competencies and market expertise of two proven innovators enables us to make a real difference in realizing our vision of Industry 4.0.”

Bai Yuli, Lenovo VP and General Manager of Lenovo New Vision said: “Our collaboration with Wikitude, a global pioneer, and leader in the AR industry, allows us to bring total solutions like the Lenovo AH Cloud to market, disrupting traditional industries and bringing customers different, better solutions that add value to their business.”

The AH Cloud platform will feature intelligent visual recognition, cloud storage, content editing and video communication, all of which will be compatible with Lenovo’s New Glass, the C200, and alternative smart mobile devices. Designed for a range of field applications, the solution has applicability in remote industrial maintenance, intelligent command and dispatch, telemedicine, 3D diagnosis, smart tourism and many others.

The platform will enable users to dynamically edit their work processes, electronic manuals, 2D/3D product models, and videos using AR. AH Cloud technologies will be embedded into production workflows, ready for use through AR visual recognition or background push notifications triggered through AI. This capability makes real-time remote expert-guidance possible for first-line operations thanks to LNV’s remote video system, Kepler. Its multi-terminal, cross-platform, customized and open functions makes it easy to operate and manage. While there are many deployment fields, this venture will initially target industrial processes, public security, Medicare and tourism promoting increased portability and cost-savings.


About Wikitude:
Wikitude is the world’s leading independent mobile AR technology provider. Its fully in-house developed AR technology is available through its SDK, Cloud Recognition and Studio products enabling brands, agencies and developers to achieve their AR goals. With more than 1 billion apps installs, Wikitude powers thousands of enterprise and consumer-focused AR apps across the globe. Wikitude’s latest product and feature addition is its 3D recognition and tracking (SLAM), allowing apps to “see” and understand rooms, spaces, and objects. For more information please visit: www.wikitude.com

About Lenovo New Vision:
Lenovo New Vision, a subsidiary of Lenovo Capital and Incubator Group, is exclusively dedicated to the AR industry. Its predecessor, NBD, launched its first-generation of AR smart glasses, the C100 in 2014, and is among the first to feature an integrated AR software/hardware solution in China. Its business covers industry, public security, Medicare, tourism as well as other sectors.

Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is a $45 billion global Fortune 500 company and a leader in providing innovative consumer, commercial, and enterprise technology. Our portfolio of high-quality, secure products and services covers PCs (including the legendary Think and multimode Yoga brands), workstations, servers, storage, smart TVs and a family of mobile products like smartphones (including the Moto brand), tablets and apps. Join us on LinkedIn, follow us on Facebook or Twitter (@Lenovo) or visit us at http://www.lenovo.com/sg/en.

About AWE:
AugmentedReality.com has hosted AWE USA since 2010 to promote the development of AR technology. The annual Expo event attracts thousands of international AR company members, futurologists, CEOs, CTOs, designers, developers, creative agencies and world-famous AR enterprises.

Categories
SDK releases

Product update: Wikitude Studio and Wikitude App

It’s been a long ride since we first launched the Wikitude App, the world’s first AR mobile app, and Wikitude Studio, the easiest AR content management tool in the market. With the launch of our SDK 6 Wikitude started a new chapter in its history, focusing on the development of powerful tools for developers to create their own augmented reality apps in a single platform.

This blog post aims to share important dates and details related to the upcoming changes in the Wikitude product suite in accordance with our Terms and Services. This information comes ahead of time so our community can have enough time to plan for the upcoming changes. 

Wikitude is terminating Wikitude Studio (studio.wikitude.com) and replacing it by our newly developed Studio Editor. Additionally, Wikitude will terminate support for geo-worlds hosted in the Wikitude App. 

Our team has been building the new generation AR content management tool, called Studio Editor, that will continue to provide the same features you loved in Wikitude Studio. Studio Editor is now available for free trial. Exact migration instructions and actions to be taken will follow via email to all customers within the next weeks.


Migration & hosting 
  • Automatic migration of AR experiences from Wikitude Studio to Studio Editor will be provided for all customers later this year. 

  • AR experiences hosted in Wikitude Studio will be upgraded for compatibility with Studio Editor. 

Important dates (in chronological order) 

  • Customers using Wikitude Studio hosting in combination with a SDK version lower than 4.1, should contact our team for further information latest by 2017-03-30.

  • Wikitude Studio will export worlds only in SDK 4.1 or higher version starting 2017-04-04 (if you use the Wikitude App as publishing channel, this does not affect you). 

  • The Wikitude Studio (studio.wikitude.com) will be discontinued from 2017-09-30 onwards. 

  • After 2017-09-30 AR experiences hosted in Wikitude Studio will not be editable (read-only). 

  • Geo-Worlds in the Wikitude App will not be available after 2017-09-30. 

  • Existing tools offering ‘Publish in Wikitude’ feature will not be available after 2017-09-30 except for upcoming the new features in Studio Editor. 

  • AR experiences hosted in Wikitude Studio will be deleted after 2017-12-31.

Wikitude is committed to creating powerful tools that allow anyone to build ultimate AR experiences in just a few clicks. 

Should you have any doubts please don’t hesitate to contact our team on the email sales@wikitude.com.

The Wikitude Team

Categories
News

Giveaway result: Augmented Reality will save the planet

We had some pretty impressive submissions for this year’s Wikitude Xmas giveaway – over 100 submissions via email and social media from 18 different countries. We saw it all: a handmade letter to Santa, an artist wanting to augment paintings of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, a girl whose mission is to bring AR to Trinidad & Tobago and even a developer who wanted to make an AR time machine (our team agreed that if he can show us a prototype, we would give him a license right away!)

But our winner? An innovative idea we haven’t heard before, with a heck of a claim: AR can help save the planet. Congratulations PAN Project, you guys are getting a free Wikitude SDK!

Meet the PAN Project

If you happened to drop by Albert-Einstein-Strasse in Osnabrück, Germany, you might not be surprised to find some pretty smart people, who happen to be the winner of our 2016 Wikitude SDK Giveaway.

They’re the brains behind the PAN project – an augmented reality-powered, mobile-app based platform to crowdsource the monitoring of environmental changes. What? It’s simpler than it sounds – let us explain.

In today’s digital world, things often move too fast for us to see – the environment works the other way. It’s too slow – and continuous monitoring on a large scale is different. That’s where the power of crowds come in. Using an AR-app as a how-to aid, anyone can go out and engage in ‘citizen science’ – and it’s simple. Find the right spot, take a picture. See the 15-second demo below.

https://youtu.be/Nd_0yVGJX2o

For Matthias Temmen – one of the heads behind the project – it’s not just the science, it’s raising awareness and getting people outside. “We encourage people who are not very interested in environmental care to engage their local and regional landscapes, think about their protection and understand natural change processes,” he says. It’s all about mobilizing and engaging a broad selection of citizens. He continues: “Citizens interested in nature, environmental protection or science, plus tourists, hikers, cyclists, school classes and study groups are enabled by the PAN app to navigate to various points of interest with GPS and AR to take photos from the same location and perspective over a long period of time.”

The ultimate goal, of course, is to raise environmental awareness and see how the natural world is changing right before our very eyes.

How will our SDK help save the planet? 

pan-shot-new-1Our technology makes their app work. “Geo-based AR is the core of this project. The users have to be directed to the place where they should photograph with ease and fun without thinking about the underlying technology.” But access to everything the Wikitude SDK will hopefully give them the opportunity to improve that experience even more. “Due to the intrinsic uncertainty of GPS and magnetometer we’re eager to experiment with the new 3D Tracking feature to enhance the reproducibility of the taken images!”

And the best part of them – it makes their job easier, and lets them focus on the features and functionality of their app. “Writing high accuracy and reliable AR code is a complex task which take a significant amount of time and skill,” says Temmen. “The Wikitude SDK provides the state of the art way of a ready to use AR framework on multiple platforms which unleashes its power out of the box. So why reinvent the wheel? The combination of various solutions is truly amazing and pays back immediately!”

All in all, we here at Wikitude couldn’t be more happy with the winner of our annual license giveaway – we’re really looking forward to seeing how the PAN project can save the world. And as the for the guy building a time machine… let us know when it’s time to go back to the future.

 

Categories
Dev to Dev

Migrating from Moodstocks: here’s how to keep your app online

The augmented reality industry is on fire these past weeks:

  • Snapchat has quietly introduced a whole new world of augmented reality right in our hands
  • Pokémon Go’s AR game added $7.5 billion to Nintendo’s market value
  • and just last week Moodstocks, French image recognition startup, was bought by Google

As pioneers in the field, Wikitude couldn’t be more excited with all the attention (and actual usage) augmented reality has gotten in the past week. In fact, there was an increase of 417% on Google searches for the term “augmented reality” in the past week.

Google 'augmented reality' search results

About 1 year ago, the industry experienced a similar hype when Apple bought Metaio. Back then, our team helped hundreds of developers and agencies to migrate their apps to Wikitude. This time around, it won’t be different: we’re here to help Moodstocks-based apps to keep running smoothly and make a switch in just a few steps!

Image Recognition and Tracking, Geo-based AR, Cloud Recognition Services and content management system: Wikitude offer a full stack of products to build incredible AR apps in no time! 

Wikitude SDK

The Wikitude SDK is the core of our augmented reality solution set. It provides developers with a powerful SLAM rendering engine for mobile apps and smart glasses.

The latest version of the Wikitude SDK includes all the features (and more) to keep your Moodstocks app amazing your users. Here’s a list of all features:

  • Geo-based AR
  • Image recognition and tracking
  • Object recognition and tracking
  • Instant tracking
  • Extended image tracking
  • 3D modeling and presentation layers
  • 3D tracking for Unity SDK

This means you can overlay digital content on 2D images on planar (magazines, catalogues, billboard, TV/computer screens) and non-planar surfaces (product packaging, images places on objects, etc), stick the augmentation on the user’s screen and even include location-based AR (just like the Pokémon Go app does).

Why Wikitude?

  • You can build your own white-label app from scratch or include the SDK in an existing app.
  • We have a sample app which you can use for base of your project and to test all features included in the SDK.
  • Our set up guides are quick and easy!
  • Choose among several development platforms and programming languages to build your app, such as JavaScript, Unity, Xamarin, PhoneGap, Titanium, JavaScript, native iOS and Android.
  • With Wikitude you have the freedom to choose between On-Device Recognition (offline, aka client recognition), Cloud Image Recognition (online) or a ‘hybrid’(online-offline) alternative.
  • Using the Wikitude Cloud recognition will allow you to add, replace or remove images without republishing your app.
  • Manage your AR content with the Wikitude Studio/Target manager.

And a few more things:

  • Stable technology: we are pioneers in the AR industry, first launching our AR SDK in 2009;
  • 100% in-house API: our technology is robust, fast and precise, fully developed by our highly qualified R&D team;
  • Fast and scalable: recognize 2D targets in less than a second (current speed: 0,5 secs). You can upload up to 50,000 images in our cloud, but if you need more, just let us know;
  • Trusted by global brands: Wikitude is the largest independent AR SDK provider in the market. MasterCard, Johnson & Johnson, Volkswagen, Cisco, SAP, Konica Minolta, 20 Fox Century are some of the hundreds of Global brands using our technology;
  • Smart glasses: our SDK is optimized for the industries top AR smart glasses for hands-free experiences;
  • Best support team: we hear this every day and are proud of it! We’re here for you.

How to migrate from Moodstocks to Wikitude:

Don’t be shy, if you have any questions or need help, reach out to info@wikitude.com anytime!

Download Free Trial

Categories
Dev to Dev

Build the next Pokémon Go with Wikitude’s SDK 5.2

Wikitude SDK 5.2 - build the next Pokemon Go

Update (August 2017): Object recognition, multi-target tracking and SLAM: Track the world with SDK 7

Are you working on building the next Pokémon Go? Wikitude can help make that a whole lot easier! Geo location, image recognition, and on-screen interactives – all right here for the taking. The next version of our industry-leading augmented reality SDK is out – and it’s got a few upgrades we think developers need to know about.

So if you’ve got the next smash-hit app for AR, hop on board – we’ve got the tools you need to build them.

Build your own Pokémon Go!

The Wikitude app was the first publicly available app that used a location-based approach to augmented reality, already in 2008. If you are ready to build the next Pokémon Go app, all you have to do is check out our Geo-based AR feature included in the Wikitude SDK.

pokemon-go-nick_statt-screenshots-1.0

Image credits: The Verge

With a few lines of code you can build awesome AR games that will not only augment Snorlax, Bulbasaur and Pikachu, but any 3D model of your favorite creature, along with videos, augmented buttons, html widgets and more! 

Here’s how to build an app like Pokémon Go with Wikitude:

(Don’t be shy, if you have any questions or need help, reach out to info@wikitude.com anytime!)

New “Camera control feature” (Input Plugins)

This new feature (Camera Input Plugins) allows developers to feed the Wikitude SDK with their own input images and manage the camera stream on their own, making the SDK more flexible where it receives camera images from.
It’s an extension of our existing Plugins API feature, introduced in the SDK 5. The SDK comes with an extensive sample “Custom Camera” that demonstrates the feature with a custom rendered camera image using a shader for a scanning effect.

Camera Input Plugins

This new camera input feature also not only lets the user to provide input from different cameras to the SDK, but it doesn’t “occupy” the camera while the SDK is running, letting you multitask while other things while the SDK is running.

Making Unity better (and easier)

Our most popular plugin was updated to make product visualization even better!

We made some essential changes to the camera prefab (set up), which has been simplified in its structure. The hierarchy it previously had is now a single GameObject, making it easier to combine the prefab with other Unity objects and features, like physics engine. Most of all, your 3D content will no longer stand alone in your AR experiences!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VEkSZEO-jU

You will be able to insert shadows, change texture on 3D models, make objects interact with each other and drag and drop several objects in the AR experience.

So whether you are building interactive augmented reality catalogues, like IKEA’s, or awesome AR games, get started today with our updated Unity extension.

Download SDK 7.0

Categories
Dev to Dev

Wikitude Cloud Recognition: Scalable and 10% Faster

In the past days we silently rolled out an upgrade to our cloud services for all customers. The update focused on bringing the components and infrastructure we are using in our Cloud Services up to the latest versions. The database infrastructure used in our Cloud Services played a crucial role, where we upgraded to the latest MongoDB version.

This upgrade, beside all the security and stability fixes you get out of it, also resulted in an performance improvement of average 10%, meaning the cloud services can handle more parallel requests and traffic.

Additionally we fixed a few UI glitches and bugs – particularly when uploading a higher number of images at the same time (>300). The new Wikitude Studio updated its duplicate check for better recognition in case you are uploading an identical image.

Generating WTC files

Wikitude Studio is the easiest and fastest way to generate wtc files, the file format recognized by the Wikitude SDK. Whether you are working with you own CMS or with a large amount of images directly in the cloud, you can use this service to automatize the generation of wtc files in just a few clicks.

If you still haven’t tried the Wikitude Studio including Cloud Recognition and the web-based Editor, get a free trial today at your developer license page. For optimal performance, Wikitude has distributed servers across the planet: Europe, Americas and China. To learn more check out our documentation section.

 

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Augmented World Expo 2016 was the biggest and best AR event ever – and here’s why

Couldn’t make it to Santa Clara for AWE 2016? Take five minutes to find out what you missed.

The biggest Augmented Reality event in the world has come and gone for 2016 – and there’s a whole lot to talk about for anyone interested in seeing the future. Wikitude was onsite to demonstrate its latest technology advancements– and of course, see what everyone else in the AR/VR/wearable industry was up to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16KPWVPcDi0&feature=youtu.be

Show me the money

The first thing you noticed? Money. Not literally – but lurking quietly below the surface. Booths were bigger, presentations were slicker, and everything and everyone was more professional. It’s a sign that people in the know are putting investments on the line – with full expectations of real returns. We’ve had our first glimpses of the future – and it’s one full of possibilities for the AR world. Of course, that was also reflected in another metric – people. Says Wikitude’s Phillipp Nagele: “There was just so much more happening this year! I think the show must have doubled in size since last year.”

Interactivity is evolving

The layman thinks of AR as a new way to consume content or information about the world – but what some of the visionaries in the field are most excited about it how it will change the ways we interface with computers. The computer has always required a tactile interaction. Keyboards and mice have evolved to touch screens, but what’s next? The answer: nothing. Augmented reality devices will let our fingers, hands and eyes interact with digital images in ways never seen before. Check out ODG’s R-7 smartglasses – for which we’ve designed an optimized version of the Wikitude SDK. It will help you make sure AR scenarios now work flawlessly on the ODG hardware. Read the official ODG / Wikitude partnership announcement.

We made a scene at the Auggies

The Oscars to the film industry is what the Auggies are to the AR industry. Not only was Wikitude a finalist in the Best AR Tool category, WIkitude also stole the show by augmenting the Auggie this year – yep, we augmented the Auggie. After all, it makes sense, right? Watch Ori Inbar, Founder and CEO of Augmented World Expo live on stage during the keynote and Auggie Awards ceremony.

See what we had to show off

For the people that work behind the scene on AR apps, Wikitude had plenty to offer from CTO Philipp Nagele – most importantly, technical insight and an in-depth tutorial on our SDK, plus an exploration of the various complimentary and powerful tools WIkitude offers including Studio, Cloud Recognition and the plugins API, which let’s the Wikitude SDK work with other libraries to create powerful, custom-built apps with features like QR and barcode recognition as well as OCR.

CEO Martin Herdina discussed one of the most important issues for everyone in the AR space: 3D recognition and tracking of objects, rooms, spaces, and structures. With the discipline still very much in its infancy, Herdina offered rare bits of real-word experience on best practices with devices already in the market.

And, in the parlance of the film industry – that’s a wrap. AWE 2016 was an incredible event highly indicative of an incredible future. What will be talking about next year? Whatever it is, it’s surely going to be even more exciting. See you in the new future!