Google Adding Augmented Reality To Your Smartphone

Google Adding Augmented Reality To Your Smartphone

With the craze of Augmented Reality (AR) rising over and over again, Google recently debuted ARCore for Android. ARCore aims to counter, Apple‘s ARKit. AR places computer-generated images into the user‘s field of view, making them to appear as real. ARCore is expected to add a new dimension to the industry of AR research and development.

What is ARCore?

ARCore is an augmented reality (AR) platform for Android developers. It ushers the capabilities of Augmented Reality to existing and future Android phones. Compared to ARKit, ARCore is lighter to load. The purpose of ARCore is to ensure that developing AR apps would be easy for Android developers.

ARcore works without additional hardware. It can scale across the Android ecosystem.

For now it is supported by both Android 7.0 Nougat and Android Oreo.

Google is planning for ARCore to work with 100 million existing and upcoming devices following an official launch that is expected to be this winter.

Does ARCore have any scope for success?

Since 2016, Google has been featuring Tango as its smartphone AR platform. However, Tango has specific limitations and requirements. Custom sensors and other specialized hardware for cameras are required by Tango. With ARCore, Google hopes to overcome these limitations.

h4>Ingredients of ARCore:

Three basic components of ARCore comprise of:

  • Motion tracking: It uses video footage and internal sensors in order to estimate the relative location of phone. Hence, users can pin digital objects in one real world place and move around them.
  • Environmental understanding: It detects flat surfaces with the camera.
  • Light estimation: It adds a realistic touch to the surroundings. It also enables the digital pieces to fit in with their real world surroundings.

Using AR in phone

In his statement to The Verge, Clay Bavor, Google’s head of augmented and virtual reality, talked about potential future applications of the technology. He said:
“Google expects interior design apps, and other tools that allow users to manipulate the real environment with digital objects, could be one avenue. An ARCore user at Google created an app to explain how to use Google’s complicated espresso machine, which shows users overlaid instructions such as “Don’t touch this piece, it’s hot,” when they hold their phone up to it.”

Possible Future for AR:

In near future, ARCore might be combined with a visual search tool like Google Lens. Earlier we saw Google app explaining the procedure to use a machine.

Now here, users may be able to take picture of machine and the visual search feature would identify it automatically. Then, the AR feature would provide them with an overlay of instructions that would help users to use the machine. Replacing the necessity of things like labeled photograph or video demonstration, ARCore might show the levers to pull on the machine that user is looking at.

What are your thoughts about a digitally enhanced world via Google’s ARCore? What is your opinion on ARCore? Share with us.
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