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Hands-On With Apple's 'ARKit' Augmented Reality Demo for Developers

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With iOS 11, Apple is delving into augmented reality in a big way, introducing an ARKit development platform that will allow developers to quickly and easily build augmented reality experiences into their apps and games.

ARKit is positioned to be the largest AR platform in the world when it launches this fall, using the camera, processors, and motion sensors in the iPhone and iPad to create some incredibly impressive augmented reality interactions.

While we won't see the first augmented reality apps and games built on ARKit for a couple of months, Apple has an ARKit demo app to show off what ARKit can do. We went hands-on with the demo to give MacRumors readers just a small taste of what to expect.


ARKit uses technology called Visual Inertial Odometry to track the world around an iPad or iPhone, allowing a device to sense how it moves in a room. ARKit automatically analyzes a room's layout, detecting horizontal planes like tables and floors, which then allows virtual objects to be placed upon those surfaces.

With ARKit able to place any virtual object within a physical room, developers can create all kinds of unique experiences, and developers have already released several demos showing what might be possible.

Apple already has at least one major retailer on board to use ARKit -- IKEA. IKEA is developing a new augmented reality app built on ARKit that will let customers preview IKEA products in their own homes before making a purchase. IKEA has offered augmented reality functionality for a few years now, but the company says Apple's new platform will much improve the experience. With ARKit available, IKEA says augmented reality will now "play a key role" in new product lines.

For additional details on other developer tools and features coming in iOS 11, make sure to check out our full iOS 11 roundup.

Article Link: Hands-On With Apple's 'ARKit' Augmented Reality Demo for Developers
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2017/06/20/apple-arkit-demo-hands-on/
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mi7chy

mi7chy

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DRAM is going to limit the number and complexity of objects loaded along with a newer GPU required for decent performance. I can see needing the 2017 iPad Pros with 4GB DRAM and GPUs to have a positive experience.
 
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X38

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FactVsOpinion said:
It's one of these technologies where you just know there will amazing use cases and applications all over the place, but it's pretty hard to imagine many specific examples.
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It certainly looks intriguing. One thought that comes to mind is that it might be pretty interesting if there were some sort of ARKit 'server' function for sharing AR worlds such that different users could simultaneously see and interact with the same AR world from different perspectives on different devices. (Please forgive my ignorance if it is already known to have such a capability.)
 
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FactVsOpinion

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If the camera could track a tool, or even your hand, such that you could interact with virtual objects that way, that would be neat.

That is, pick up the cup, turn the cup, or push it off the table
 
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Superhappytree

Superhappytree

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mi7chy said:
DRAM is going to limit the number and complexity of objects loaded along with a newer GPU required for decent performance. I can see needing the 2017 iPad Pros with 4GB DRAM and GPUs to have a positive experience.
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Isn't Apple making their own custom GPU's for the iPhone 8 though? Maybe that's just powerful enough? And maybe they'll up the RAM to 4GB like the new iPad, you never know. This would be a good excuse for it. I don't know if the former is correct though so apologies if it isn't.
 
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pat500000

pat500000

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I could possibly use this tech for building design or city planning or whatever like sim city game. If i was house burglar, i could use what-if scenario with this ar/vr tech.
 
MatthewAro

MatthewAro

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I tried running it on my iPhone 6 but it said my devoice was not supported :(
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penajmz said:
Does anyone know how to get this demo? Is it on the developer portal? I can't seem to find it.
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It is in the documentation section of the ARKit Dev Page
 
Nevaborn

Nevaborn

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AR was always the dream. I knew Apple would nail it. From game interaction to customising home design and using the camera to view and find out information about the world around you.AR really is the next step in technology. VR has its place for games and entertainment but AR is a tool for every day life.
 
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J InTech82

J InTech82

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jmh600cbr said:
Can't wait for integration in maps. Being a tourist will never be the same.
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FactVsOpinion said:
That will be amazing!
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Hell, once the 3D rendering and imager gets better in the next few years, the attraction will come to you! Want to go to the Taj Mahal? No need to go to India, just walk outside. Want to go to Yosemite? Walk outside your doorstep, just to mention a couple examples.
 
4RUNRCLB

4RUNRCLB

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MatthewAro said:
I tried running it on my iPhone 6 but it said my devoice was not supported :(
[doublepost=1498003044][/doublepost]
It is in the documentation section of the ARKit Dev Page
Click to expand...

To quote Darth Vader: Nooooooo!!! I may finally have to ditch my iPhone 6 at some point if this really takes off, but that's not going to be the end of the world. First world problems. Right?
 
4RUNRCLB

4RUNRCLB

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Honestly this looks pretty cool. I can see this really taking off in the gaming realm. It's really life VR without the bulky headset. I would really like to know what else people can come up with down the road to use this in ways other than gaming, but then again that's why I'm not a developer I guess
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dannyyankou said:
The technology is cool, but nothing practical that convinces me to spend $800 on a head set.
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I think the point with is that you don't need a headset, just your phone/ iPad... Correct me if I'm wrong though.
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jmh600cbr said:
Can't wait for integration in maps. Being a tourist will never be the same.
Click to expand...

Very good idea. Even walking around you own city/ hiking would be fun if there were apps that laid out trails or info about the places around you.
 
sudo1996

sudo1996

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I'll bet this is going to be a lot easier than what I tried doing with OpenCV. And most of the effort there was just linking the library into a Swift iOS app. Had to bridge from C++ to ObjectiveC++ to Swift. Nightmare.
 
M

mark-vdw

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Jan 20, 2013
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JosephAW said:
I have the Mattel VR headset. Be nice to see the merger of AR and VR on such devices. "aVR"
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Can any dev with access to the ARKit API confirm whther it's written in a way that easily translates from the 2D iOS screens to stereoscopic goggles?
 
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