Getting started

Welcome to the Wikitude SDK. This document is designed to help you from your very first steps with the Wikitude SDK all the way through to advanced concepts and examples for developing your augmented reality project.

Epson Moverio

The Wikitude SDK for Epson Moverio smart glasses makes use of the see through technology offered by the Epson Moverio. It directly overlays augmented reality content in the field of vision of the user. This creates a more immersive experience than overlaying it on top of a camera viewfinder image. Additionally the SDK is aware of the 2D and 3D mode the glasses offer. If a user switches to the 3D mode a stereoscopic rendering is activated that uses different images for the left and the right eye creating a real 3D vision. The image recognition engine Wikitude SDK has been calibrated for the Epson Moverio glasses to account for the different position of the camera and the users field of vision.

Setup your Epson project

Google Glass

The Wikitude SDK for Google Glass is optimized for the current version of the Google Glass Explorer program. Note that the Glass Development Kit and the device itself are still under development and can still change over time. The device provides a head-up display with a live camera image, which can be augmented using the Wikitude SDK.

Setup your Google Glass project

Known Limitations

Vuzix Smart Glass

The Wikitude SDK for Vuzix Smart Glasses is optimized for the M100 device. The device provides a head-up display with a live camera image, which can be augmented using the Wikitude SDK.

Setup your Vuzix project

The documentation is arranged in a way to guide you through the various steps in your development process. We recommend following each of the steps outlined below and reading the documentation in the order displayed.

  1. Run the Sample App - the Sample App is a fully pre-configured project which includes numerous samples how to use the Wikitude SDK. Install and run the Sample App on your own device.

  2. View the Examples - all of the included samples are complete augmented reality experiences which run in the SDK Sample app. Browse through this section and get an idea of what the SDK is capable of. The relevant parts of the samples are described in more detail to highlight the applied concepts and patterns. These examples are designed to help you get off to a great start with the Wikitude SDK.

    Viewing samples based on vision based augmented reality requires the corresponding reference images. All of them are available directly in the description of the sample or available as a collection in a PDF file, which you can either view on the screen or print.

  3. Write your own Architect World - this section will introduce you to best practices for your development workflow once you write your own code for your augmented reality experience.

  4. Get good at what you do - the Wikitude SDK comes with several tools which help you to develop more complex augmented reality experiences. This section covers how to use these tools and how they will assist you in your daily work.

The Wikitude SDK - Augmented Reality for your own app

The Wikitude SDK is a software library and framework for mobile apps used to create augmented reality experiences. The SDK supports any kind of location based use case as well as use cases which require image recognition and tracking technology (vision based augmented reality).

How to code for the Wikitude SDK

The Wikitude SDK builds heavily on web technologies (HTML, JavaScript, CSS) to allow developers to write cross platform augmented reality experiences. These augmented reality experiences are called ARchitect worlds and are basically ordinary HTML pages that can utilize the ARchitect API to create objects in augmented reality.

Integrating the Wikitude SDK into your application is done by adding the platform specific view component called ARchitectView to your applications user interface. See the setup guide for how to setup a native project and load an ARchitect World.

Get started with writing augmented reality experiences by viewing through the examples included in the SDK. Each example is explained in detail in this documentation. Additional information about the ARchitect API can be found in the included API specification.

The Wikitude Developer Portal

The Wikitude Developer Portal should be your first stop when you have specific development related questions. The portal hosts a very active Developer Community Forum where Wikitude staff members are constantly assisting other developers with helpful tips and advice. A Knowledge Base helps with various questions.

Feedback and Contact

We are always interested in your feedback and suggestions how we can improve this documentation. Please use the contact form on our website or visit us on Google+ or Facebook