Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
AR SDKs
Augmented Reality SDKs provide developers the tools and libraries to more easily develop
Augmented Reality applications (for instance, to add AR technology to Android, iOS
applications, and so on).
Currently you can use many AR SDKs for
image recognition & tracking
3D model rendering
video overlay
location based
Here are some of the most used augmented reality SDK:
Qualcomm Vuforia
Metaio
Total Immersion D'Fusion
Wikitude
AR and Android
At the time of this writing, the state of AR gaming in Android is close to non-existent. Some
may say that is not good, but I think it is an opportunity for developers to explore new
ground and new potential sources of revenue. Other hardcore mobile gaming platforms such
as the PlayStation PS Vita
®
have taken the first step by offering a simple yet solid set of AR
games out of the box. On the other hand, and unfortunately for Android, Google has not
been able to monetize their gaming market enough to attract potential investment for this
new ground (compared to other gaming markets such as the iOS). Nevertheless, AR gaming
will come to Android eventually. It should be mentioned that other kinds of AR apps, such as
browsers (Layar and Junaio to name two), have been around Android for a while now.
So who among you will be the first to come up with an AR game idea for Android? The
following are some of the challenges that must be met in order to make that wish a reality:
An AR
library/toolkit
: Because we don't have a PhD in Neural Nets,
Artificial Intelligence, or Advanced Computer Graphics, plus a few years
to spare to write the required complex recognition algorithms required
by AR, we need an existing AR library or toolkit to start with. This library
should provide the backbone required to build all kinds of AR apps
including games. There are existing open source options out there, so
it's just a matter of digging around, but more on that later.
