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Education

Wikitude Product and Services End-of-Life Announcement

Well over a decade ago, we launched the Wikitude AR SDK. It enabled mobile developers to easily create or integrate augmented reality to their apps with platforms they used and loved. Since then, more than 40,000 mobile apps have been created using Wikitude. These apps got in the hands of millions of users and have significantly shifted the way developers, consumers, workers, gamers and enthusiasts use AR.

As we look to the future of extended reality and focus on paving the way to outstanding headworn-based experiences, it means we need to open space for the new and bring Wikitude to its End-Of-Life.

We want to say a full-hearted thank you to all of you, our community, customers and partners for your trust throughout all these years!

The End-Of-Sales (EOS) will happen on the 21.09.2023, which means that no new purchases or subscription renewals are possible from this date onward. The End-Of-Life (EOL) will occur 12 months after, on the 21.09.2024, when all Wikitude services will be shut down and stored data will be deleted.

Wikitude End Of Life timeline

It’s important to note that after the EOL date, your SDK license keys will still work. However, given that it will not receive any more updates or technical support, the software will become more vulnerable to OS incompatibilities and security risks. Wikitude Studio, Cloud and Studio API access will be fully disabled on the 21.09.2024 and the associated data will be deleted.

Technical support will be given until EOL date only to active subscribers for the duration of their active subscription. Kindly note that we will not be able to assist in your migration efforts, and support will be reduced to a bare minimum.

Thank you for the incredible decade of building augmented reality for mobile and we invite you to join us building the future of Extended Reality. We are here to clear any questions you might have.

The Wikitude Team

Find out more about what is happening next

You probably have many questions, so bellow we’ll answer some of them:


Until when can I make a license purchase?

Off-the-shelf and enterprise purchases will be disabled on the 21 September 2023. Starting with this date users will not be able anymore to make any new orders.


What happens with my upcoming subscription renewal?

Off-the-shelf and enterprise renewals will be disabled on the 21 September 2023. Starting with this date users will not be able anymore to renew a subscription. Should you wish to, you can already disable your upcoming renewal in your account (see dedicated FAQ ). All subscriptions that are still active on the EOS date will be blocked from being renewed by our system.


Until when can I create a Wikitude user account?

Account registrations will be disabled on the 21 September 2023. Starting with this date users will not be able anymore to open an account. Account login and password reset are still possible until 21 September 2024.


Until when can I generate an SDK license key for my purchase/renewal?

License keys can be generated until the 21.09.2024 for all licenses purchased until 21 September 2023.


What does it mean “available only for the duration of the subscription period”?

Technical support, Cloud and Studio API access will continue within the scope of your subscription type until the end of your subscription year. For example: If your current subscription started on 10 October 2022, you would have access until 9 October 2023. If your current subscription started on 6 June 2023, you would have access until 5 June 2024.


How will I get support as an active subscriber?

We are continuing technical support for all customers, only for the duration of their active subscription. Kindly note that Wikitude technical support is being reduced to a bare minimum, therefore only requests associated with an active subscription will be considered, based on the invoice number.
Support tickets should be opened via the Wikitude forum with the email address used for making the purchase. When logged in the forum, you will see on the home page the link “New support ticket”. This will take you to a form where you can create a support ticket. Please make sure that your Subject line follows the recommended format, as otherwise your support request might be disregarded. The format is “INV-2345 / the issue line”. For example: “INV-73527 / Support Website Navigation Broken”.
Should you be entitled to technical support but cannot find the “New support ticket” link in the forum, please send us an email to info@wikitude.com, and make sure to include your invoice number.


Can I get technical support if I am not an active subscriber?

We are continuing technical support only for customers, for the duration of their active subscription. Kindly note that Wikitude technical support is being reduced to a bare minimum, therefore only requests associated with an active subscription will be considered.


What will happen with my commercial SDK license key?

Unless differently stated in your custom agreement, SDK commercial licenses are valid for the app’s lifetime, even for subscriptions that do not get renewed. Therefore, you can continue with the license key after the EOL date.
However, you will not have access to any other Wikitude services or software updates. Keep in mind that updates from Android, iOS, and Windows might affect the functionality of older Wikitude SDK versions and even lead to breaking changes.
App ID changes will not be accepted.
Please check this FAQ to see which SDK version your key is supporting.


What will happen with my trial key?

Free trial keys are disabled 45 days after the day of generation. Please check this FAQ to see which SDK version your key is supporting.


My Cloud or/and Studio API renewal was due soon after the 21st of September, but I still need some time. What should I do?

Renewals will be disabled starting with 21 September 2023 and some of our customers’ subscriptions are due to renew soon after this date. Therefore, we decided to extend access to those few cases, without requiring an actual renewal. They will be informed individually about the extension conditions and timeframe.


How do I access download packages if there is no public download page?

Starting with the 21 September 2023, the download packages can be accessed when you are logged in the “My Account” page, via the Download button (in the upper part of the Overview section).


Will Wikitude support in any migration efforts?

Kindly note that Wikitude support is being reduced to a bare minimum, therefore we will not be able to allocate resources to migration initiatives.


Are there any Wikitude SDK updates planned before the EOL?

There will be no new features and no feature advancements. Should you, as an active subscriber, see any breaking changes after updating to iOS 17 or Android 14, please let us know via a support ticket and we will look into it.
Please check this FAQ to see which SDK version your key is supporting.


What will happen with my Cloud data?

Wikitude Cloud will be maintained until the announced EOL date, and access is granted in combination with an active cloud subscription. On the 21 September 2024, the Cloud service will be completely shut down and all associated data will become unavailable. Your personal data will be deleted according to our privacy policy (https://www.wikitude.com/legal/privacy-policy/). Should you want to exercise your data subject rights, you can submit your requests here.
The raw images you used for your cloud collections cannot be downloaded from Wikitude Studio, as we only make them accessible in our proprietary data formats. To extend your app functionality with Wikitude SDK, you can consider implementing an offline recognition or migrating your image targets to your cloud servers as opposed to the Wikitude’s cloud-based image recognition service. In both cases you will need to work with the image WTCs or ZIPs, which you can download from the Wikitude Studio until 21 September 2024.


What will happen with my Cloud access?

Cloud access will continue within the scope of your subscription type until the end of your subscription year. For example, if your current subscription started on 6 June 2023, you would have Cloud access until 5 June 2024.
Renewals will be disabled starting with 21 September 2023 and some of our customers’ subscriptions were due to renew soon after this date. Therefore, we decided to extend access to those few cases, without requiring an actual renewal. They will be informed individually about the extension conditions and timeframe.


What will happen to my Studio projects?

Wikitude Studio will be maintained until the announced EOL date. Until then, you can continue using its services. On the 21 September 2024, the Studio will be disabled, and all associated data will become unavailable, including the hosting functionality and hosted projects. Your personal data will be deleted according to our privacy policy (https://www.wikitude.com/legal/privacy-policy/). Should you want to exercise your data subject rights, you can submit your requests here.
Please make sure to export all the projects you might still need in your app before this date. The raw images you used for your WTCs, ZIPs, and WTOs cannot be downloaded from Wikitude Studio, as we only make them available in our proprietary data formats.


What will happen to my Studio API access?

Studio API access will continue within the scope of your subscription type until the end of your subscription year. For example, if your current subscription started on 6 June 2023, you would have Studio API access until 5 June 2024.
Renewals will be disabled starting with 21 September 2023 and some of our customers’ subscriptions were due to renew soon after this date. Therefore, we decided to extend access to those few cases, without requiring an actual renewal. They will be informed individually about the extension conditions and timeframe.


What do I do if I still want to launch a project and I did not manage to buy a license key before the EOS?

We are ending sales on the 21st of October 2023, and it is not possible from that point on to get new license keys for new projects. We are giving users a short window to make any purchase needed for projects they have been working on recently, between 12 September 2023 (first announcement date) and 21 September (end of sales date).
Should you already know you might need a license key for a new project in the near future, you can consider purchasing a license in this time frame and generate the license key later, when the app IDs are known.
Please be advised that after the EOL date, your SDK license keys will still work. However, given that it will not receive any more updates or technical support, the software will become more vulnerable to OS incompatibilities and security risks. Wikitude Studio, Cloud and Studio API access will be fully disabled on the 21.09.2024 and the associated data will be deleted.


Until when will the documentation and forum be available?

Until 21 September 2024. The download packages contain the documentation relevant to that SDK version, so we invite you to save a copy for your future reference if you see necessary.


What happens with the Educational licenses?

The academic program ends as well and we will not be providing any new educational licenses after the 20 September 2023. The validity and use rights remain as agreed for Edu licenses created until this date.


What happens with the Premium Partner Program?

The premium partner program is entering as well a wind down phase and it is closed from accepting new partners as of 13 September 2023.


How can I reach you should I have additional questions or need further details?

Please contact us via info@wikitude.com

Categories
Education

Augmented Reality for students and educators: get started with AR NOW!

AR students educators
It’s never been a better time for students and educators to take a closer look at the augmented reality technology to future-proof their careers.

Learn why and how to get started with Augmented Reality for students and educators!

Augmented reality technology

As explained in our introductory AR technology 101 guide, augmented reality is when computer-generated elements (graphics, 3D animations, videos, etc.) are digitally layered on top of a user’s view of the real world. 

As seen in the reels below, users can scan images, objects, and locations to reveal augmented experiences or point their devices to see augmentations seamlessly appear as if they were part of the physical environment.

Image Tracking 

Object Tracking 

Geo AR Tracking

Instant Tracking 

Most of the use cases above were created by experienced independent developers and AR agencies for commercial purposes.

However, with the authoring tools and technical documentation available today (more on these, below), anyone can create AR experiences. Including teachers and students, no matter the level of expertise.

Why augmented reality technology and why NOW?

Timing is everything. And yes, AR has been around for a while and had a spark of fame back in 2016 when Pokémon Go was launched – (side note, don’t miss this tutorial: how to build an app like Pokémon Go in three simple steps). 

Lately, however, tech giants, enterprises, and fortune 500 companies have been keeping a keen eye on the technology – and for good reason! AR growth predictions are incredibly promising, and the technology is already starting to get a significant chunk of the market. 

It is the dawn of AR. The technology is spreading fast and NOW is the perfect time to explore AR with some hands-on action. Students and educators worldwide are taking a closer look at augmented reality tools and the opportunities this technology brings.

The sooner you start the more prepared you will be to deliver when the AR market is at full blast.

We can help you get started NOW!

The Wikitude Academy: free Augmented Reality tools for students and educators

Back in 2012, Wikitude started a program to support academics interested in learning more about AR. As AR-technology providers keen on making the technology advance, we help by offering free access to our augmented reality platform and tools. The program was a success then and continues to thrive until this very day. 

We receive many requests and grant multiple educational AR licenses on a daily basis to students and teachers around the globe.

Teachers reach out to the Wikitude Academy when they are interested in expanding their knowledge or as a means of starting the journey of enhancing their teaching methods with the benefits of AR itself: adding digital augmentations (audio, video, 3D models, instructions) to books, machines, lab equipment, and more.

Our student requests, on the other hand, come from all backgrounds: high-school students creating independent projects, university students for project assignments and final graduation or master thesis, apprentices seeking to learn more about AR during short-term technology courses. 

How does the Wikitude Academy work?

Easy! Eligible students and educators can apply by filling out the application form on the Wikitude Academy page. The Wikitude team analyses each application individually to review the project and eligibility requirements. The final decision is informed by email.

To be eligible to apply students must be actively enrolled in (and professors currently employed by) an accredited academic institution.

The Wikitude EDU AR SDK allows users to create one AR App that can be deployed on Android, iOS, and Windows. Further details, requirements, and restrictions can be found in the Academy page linked above.

Wikitude AR SDK: augmented reality software development kit

Academics with coding knowledge (or code learning in progress), can choose to work with our main product, the Wikitude AR SDK.

The Wikitude SDK allows users to develop AR apps that can recognize, track and augment images, objects, scenes, and geographical locations. 

In the EDU version, students can work with Native or JavaScript API or choose Unity, Cordova, Xamarin or Flutter extensions to create cross-platform AR experiences for smartphones, and tablets across Android, iOS and Windows. Please note, digital eyewear projects are reserved for commercial licenses only.

Wikitude Studio Editor: create AR apps without code

Regardless if you have coding experience or not, you might want to check out the Wikitude Studio Editor.

Wikitude Studio Editor is a web-based authoring tool used for creating augmented reality experiences. 

With useful features and an intuitive interface, it should help you accomplish AR tasks without any particular technical skills. Studio Editor lets you add augmentations to your targets in a drag-and-drop manner, as well as edit and remove them. Augmented projects can be exported for further use or shared for consumption.

Wikitude documentation and AR tech articles

For support and guidance in exploring augmented reality, students and teachers are invited to navigate through our extensive documentation and forum threads. 

Additionally, the augmented reality articles below will give readers access to technical details and sample app instructions:

Download Augmented Reality SDK trial for students and educators

Are you a student or educator and want to give our augmented reality tools a try before sending your official EDU application? Access our download page to choose your platform of choice, view all plugin options and other dev tools. After the download, you will be directed to a registering page to get started.

Wikitude Download Page

Apply for a free Wikitude EDU SDK NOW!

AR is inspiring, challenging, useful, innovative, and growing fast. The earlier you start the better.

Dare to create the next big AR use case? Click the button below to start your augmented reality journey.

Wikitude Academy
Categories
Education

How AR adds value in the COVID-19 world

The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic forced the whole world into the new realm of remote work. While we seek new ways of staying connected through tech, AR shows its potential by bringing connectivity to a whole new level.

In the past months, we’ve seen the world change in the blink of an eye. With sudden lockdowns caused by COVID-19 across the globe, many were imposed to isolate and build new remote daily routines from scratch. What seemed unusual just a month ago turned into an everyday necessity. 

During this time we mastered virtual meet-ups not only on a technical but also on a human level. We realized that online conversations can be just as valuable as face to face ones. Countless Zoom and Skype calls rapidly took new shapes and meanings as they substituted our daily stand-ups and Friday get-togethers. Many employees appreciated the opportunity to cut the costs and time spent in daily commutes while their managers had to embrace the whole work from home situation and learn to build new workflows around it. 





And just like that, we found ourselves in the process of change, creating a new remote reality. While the tech we are using is not necessarily new,  it’s the newly developed attitude towards technology that changes the rules. With its unleashed potential, augmented reality becomes a technology that takes our daily experiences to the next level. And although the technology has been around for a while, its spread got catalyzed during the pandemic. Suddenly, the COVID-19 pandemic made the impact AR can bring crystal clear.

Here are 4 areas where augmented reality brings real transformation:

Shopping 

Being constantly concerned about hygiene is a trait of the new normal, that will stay with us for a while. As retail players hectically try to invent new ways to boost sales during the COVID-19 pandemic, try-before-you-buy AR apps and masks gain solid traction with social media platforms playing a significant role in making these solutions popular.  In the next few months, we will see even more helpful “try-before-you-buy” services, allowing customers to easily try any product – from sunglasses to a new piece of furniture. In the long run, the retail industry will fully adept AR as it proves to be indispensable in providing customized experiences and solutions.  

Safe reopening

Safe reopening is also becoming an important topic. Visitors will appreciate a tech that helps estimate how many people are already inside the museum and whether it makes a visit with a safe distance feasible. And while waiting outside, augmented reality allows visitors to have an engaging experience without even entering the building. For office buildings and academic institutions, AR can help keep people informed on new regulations and get questions answered about any COVID-19 response policies. See how Niagara University helps 3,300 undergraduate students stay safe in this year’s fall term.



Education

Schools and universities had to embrace the e-learning, as well as the ever-present possibility to go into the new lockdown on short notice. Remote learning and impromptu homeschooling demand digital tools to keep students connected, engaged, and motivated. Augmented reality could do the trick by providing new engaging ways to learn. Even the dry facts like the periodic system receive a new flair as students can interact with molecules. In Japan, kids can already use an augmented card game to learn how to code. Even printed materials get an upgrade with digital content or augmented animations that bring a foreign language to life.

Customer service

Is the vacuum cleaner broken during the pandemic? No clue what the error code is about? Customer service calls (especially in the context of a lockdown) can be long and tedious. And let’s face it, troubleshooting over the phone can be confusing and ineffective. Imagine that the manufacturer of your Roomba would be able to send an expert virtually to your house?  All you’ll need to do is to point the camera of your smartphone to the device to fix the problem. The expert then sees what you see and gives you clear and helpful instructions remotely on the next steps. These are only a few of the possible case uses of augmented reality in our daily lives.



Such effective AR solutions receive deserved recognition due to the limits the pandemic imposes. As the situation cools down, we will find the ways back into real life. We’ll most likely take the winning solutions with us to enjoy.

In the long run, AR proves to be a technology that helps us make the real-world better – by bringing more value to our daily experiences.

Categories
Education

Augmented reality through the eyes of an 11-year-old

Yuma Wikitude interview

At first glance, Yuma Soerianto seems to be an ordinary 11-year-old boy. He hangs out with friends, plays the piano, and trains Taekwondo. But if you look for him online or talk to him, you’ll quickly discover his biggest passion: CODING!

In fact, just a year ago the world got to meet Yuma, who is the youngest scholarship winner at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC). The mini-coding superstar from Australia started to code at the age of 6 because he felt school was not challenging enough. He created 8 apps so far, 2 of which overlay virtual objects to the real world.

So that Yuma can dive even deeper into the augmented reality world, Wikitude gave him free access to its AR SDK. We can’t wait to see what he creates!

What Wikitude, Yuma, and Batman have in common

Sometimes he jokes about being Batman when he grows up. And even though he is joking, there is something that Yuma and Batman do have in common: Batman does not possess any real superpowers. He makes an impact with his genius intellect and technology. Yuma seems to head in the same direction.

Yuma batman shirt
“I want to keep being an app developer and shape the future with innovations in technology” – Yuma Soerianto

Interview with Yuma

What is the future of AR from the eyes of an 11-year-old? What do you expect people to do with this technology?

I’d say that AR glasses would be quite important in the future, and signs would be “hovering” around! You might have seen the game shopping app I made with ARKit image tracking on Twitter recently. That’s what I imagined the future would be with AR! Finally, electrical equipment nowadays (computers, phones, TVs) will be replaced by AR for convenience!

Imagine you are living in the future, 40 years from now, where you use AR for everything you do. What would a typical school day look like for you in a full-AR world?

Well, you would probably have notebooks, activity books as a flat interactive page (to save paper :D), with augmented whiteboards which can all be seen through AR! Everything else should be physical since you wouldn’t want to be falling through a chair!

Yuma stack AR appWhat is the coolest AR app you know, and why do you like it?

It would be Let’s Stack AR, because I made it. It won “Game of the Day” on the App Store! It’s also one of the few apps where AR makes sense since with AR you can actually see what your towers compare to in real life! The app took 3 months to build it.

What other technologies are you excited to explore besides AR?

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning are the ones!

Could you imagine studying and coding with no computer/phone but only using smart glasses?

I could, but an augmented keyboard would not have the same feel as a normal keyboard, meaning that you don’t know what key you have pressed!

Asking Yuma’s dad: Are there any rules in your family in regard to the use of technology?

No, not really. Yuma is responsible enough to manage his time. Besides, he wouldn’t be where he is now if we had limited his computer use!

The next app, an AR game!

Paula Perrichot, Marketing Director at Wikitude, heard about Yuma’s passion for coding and reached out to him right away: “He shared that he is up for developing an AR game next, so we gave him free access to our brand new SDK 8.1. Now he can create AR apps not only on iOS, but also on Android and Windows.”

“My dad inspires me most”

Yuma has already pitched his ideas to Apple boss Tim Cook. Still, the person who is inspiring him most is his dad.

His father Hendri is into UI design and HTML programming himself: “In the beginning I learned Swift together with Yuma, just to keep him company. I let the project aside after a few months, and he kept going.” Swift is Yuma’s favorite coding language so far: “Although I am learning Unity and might need to know a bit of C#.”

Yuma and Tim Cook
Yuma and Tim Cook at WWDC 2017 (Source)

Wikitude CEO Martin Herdina is deeply impressed by Yuma’s skills and is looking forward to seeing what he builds using SDK 8.1.

“Shaping the future with tech is also Wikitude´s mission. By putting a topnotch AR-platform out there, Wikitude is enabling anyone to create new worlds by using the toolset of augmented reality.” Martin Herdina – Wikitude CEO.

Enabling people, not only technology: augmented reality free for startups

With SDK 8 Wikitude comes up with even more news: for the first time, Wikitude is not only granting free access to its SDK for wunderkinds, but also to independent developers and early-stage startups.

“For us, it is not only about enabling technology, in the end, it is about enabling more people to use this technology”. Paula Perrichot – Wikitude Marketing Director.

Yuma is an inspiration to many people. More than 9000 people are following his YouTube Channel “Anyone Can Code”.

Do you share Yuma’s excitement for augmented reality?

Download Wikitude’s SDK 8.1 with full compatibility for iOS 12, Android 9, Unity 2018.2 and try our new experimental feature Plane Detection, (SDK for Unity and Native API).

Categories
Education

How Wikitude and Augmented Reality are helping the deaf communicate

We know that augmented reality can do some cool stuff – but you can imagine how good we felt when we heard about Markus Streibl, who used Wikitude tech to help deaf kids communicate better by using Augmented Reality flashcards.

After being granted a Wikitude academic license, Streibl, a Master’s student in Business Informatics in Graz, Austria, and working at Evolaris, used the Wikitude EDU SDK to develop an app that helped his wife, a school teacher at the Center for Inclusion and Special Education (ZIS), give children with hearing problems another tool for learning. AR-enabled flashcards help students form a strong connection between the item and the sign language gesture. There is also an added benefit – students can study and practice on their own.

deaf children using Augmented Reality to improve their reading skills in a classroom

It’s a mission with a good cause. “Literacy skills are key to helping people communicate and participate socially,” he says. “Impaired hearing represents a significant barrier to obtaining good literacy skills.” While other IT-based learning tools exist, none employ augmented reality to improve literacy, specifically.

The app was part of his Master’s thesis. he partnered with the ZIS to conduct a four-month trial on how an AR app, in conjunction with analog flashcards, helped deaf children learn to communicate and read. While the four-month trial is not quite sufficient to draw scientific conclusions, the information obtained indicates that improved learning success for reading skills can be achieved using an AR application, and flashcards. He speculates this might be triggered by increased motivation through the use of mobile devices as well as by the strong connection between the word and the image, plus and the possibility of a review of the student’s needs.
All in all, the project has been a success – and is a great reminder AR is going to change the world in ways we haven’t even realized yet.
Want to make great things happen with our technology? Check out our blog post on how to get started with our academic license.

Request EDU SDK