提示：本系列文章主要面向在 Unity 中如何使用 Sony ToF AR SDK 进行增强现实应用程序开发。
Chapter 1 Augmented Reality Before It Was Defined
Chapter 2 Reality of Augmented Reality
Chapter 3 ToF AR Basics and Unity Settings
Chapter 4 ToF AR Developing Augmented Reality Applications in Unity
Chapter 5 AR Foundation Face Tracking
Chapter 6 ToF AR Hand Component Augmented Reality Gesture Recognition
augmented reality reality
Technical distinction
In terms of technology, AR is divided into two types: Marker-base and Marker-less. The difference lies in whether it needs to recognize objects. Marker-less is generally used for product display brand purposes, such as IKEA's app IKEA Place , which is used for virtual decoration:
Marker-base, as its name implies, is used to closely bind digital content and specific real objects. Existing image recognition, object recognition, human body recognition, space recognition, etc., for example, most artists now pay attention to the main purpose of AR. The source is basically the work "Hyper-Reality" by Keiichi Matsuda, a graduate of Bartlett College in London in 2016 :
Although in 2016, the Bartlett School of Architecture, which Keiichi Matsuda graduated from, has started a direction of "augmented reality urbanism", most of them are still mainly concept films. But all the technology in this video has been democratized today, and it is no longer an impossible task to complete.
terminal distinction
In terms of terminals, AR can be divided into three types: screens, wearables, and mobile phones. Among them, glasses are the hottest technology market this year, regardless of the time being. AR glasses companies such as Magic Leap, Microsoft Hololens, Rokid, etc., have an average selling price of 5 figures per unit; although VR glasses companies sell at low 4 figures, However, the opening of the MR function is an experimental direction that has just started in the last six months:
Now all the glasses are doing one thing: AR to VR (by increasing the percentage of digital content), VR to AR (by opening the front camera, Passthrough), and finally MR (Mixed Reality). Therefore, wearable MR technology has just begun to appear in the public eye in the past few months; and the screen is the first to be used in the AR mass consumer market. It is a classic PepsiCo advertising case "Unbelievable Bus Shelter", which does not use AR . Technology, but using a method similar to the post-film, combined with real-time camera images, resulting in an AR effect:
The final footage shot on the first day of the event was made into a Pepsi social movie to offer to the online community, ultimately garnering over 8 million views on YouTube in support. With 3 million views in just 5 days, news coverage as far away as Brazil and Australia set off a PR frenzy, reaching more than 385 million people. During the month of the campaign, sales of Pepsi Max were up 35% year-over-year. The Pepsi Max campaign has also received more than 20 awards, including a Bronze Lion for Outdoors. The same method is still widely used in the advertising and marketing industry, even if it does not use digital printing methods:
Of course, the screen can also be combined with conventional AR technology to create a magic mirror experience:
The last is the mobile phone method. Of course, the mobile phone method is also divided into three categories: social platform-based (such as Douyin, Instagram, Snapchat, Meitu), browser-based (such as Safari, WeChat), and App-based; Pros and cons:
- The social platform has a direct user base and provides simple development tools, but the effect and gameplay will be limited to the capabilities of the development tools provided by the manufacturer, and the landing cost is the lowest;
- Based on the browser, it has the highest degree of freedom and is easy to distribute on WeChat, but it is the most difficult to develop, the visual effect is the worst, and the landing cost is basically the same as that of the App;
- App-based, the final gameplay and visual effects are the highest, but the distribution is the most difficult (the target group must be guided to download).
The things that the three types of platforms can do are basically the same in today's projects, namely the Marker-base and Marker-less mentioned above.
Gameplay distinction
In the final analysis, the AR gameplay is an additional interface between people and objects, which can generate additional interactions and form a new experience. The experience may be a thrill or a story. For example, Disney+'s new series "Remembering" combines TV dramas and AR to form a field where you can explore and take photos together:
Using is the simplest image recognition, is the game that breaks the TV screen. In addition, the classic case of AR art "Mirages & miracles" , combined with printed matter, adds dynamic and three-dimensional elements to the static and flat world:
To create an atmosphere and horror experience, there is a project under development "かくれんぼの音" that provides a dark AR experience:
In addition, in the field of fashion, AR and people are combined, virtual sneakers and fashion brands RTFKT Studios and Nike jointly created the first AR hoodie AR Hoodie, which realizes a surreal clothing experience (although the online evaluation is like a QQ show Web3 Resurrection):
The application of face is the main technical direction in the current social platform filter market, and after combining gesture recognition, it is a new field of digital virtual human and virtual fashion, and this is also a new market that Sony ToF AR can open up .
The last way to play is to directly combine with space: large space augmented reality or VPS (Virtual Positioning System technology), the night tour project "Looking for the Entrance of Xiamen Metaverse", which I co-created with Yixian Advanced Technology and Intuitive Pump at Xiamen Hulishan Fortress , It is mainly aimed at the current cultural tourism industry, which is difficult to be transformed, but lacks the demand for re-tourism for re-consumption:
Of course, large-space augmented reality technology is only human technology in the final analysis, so in fact, 10 years ago, the concept of large-space augmented reality appeared at the Venice Biennale, but the space-time work "Alter Bahnhof Video" did not use any AR technology. Walk" :
AR design
The above is basically all the things that AR can do in the mass market today:
- Markless and Markbase play options
- Terminal selection for screens, wearables, and mobile phones
- Platform selection for social platforms, WeChat, and Apps
The AR part needs to be considered as above. The development cycle and material cost are mainly based on the choice of gameplay, which can be further evaluated. And my concept of AR has always been very clear, it will never be a terminal medium, and it is not used to carry the body of the work. It is essentially a product of the trend of transhumanism since World War II, and it is for the enhancement of human beings. The use of AR in creation is to enhance the audience.