AR Developer Perspective On Meta Spark AR
New developments are heard every day in the AR world. Giants offer new easy solutions for AR developers. As an ARCore and ARKit developer, I share my Meta Spark AR breakdown. Tools, development environment, outputs, testing, distribution we will go over through all this.
META SPARK AR
Spark AR is a platform developed by Facebook to easily create augmented reality effects for Facebook and Instagram.
This platform offers a world familiar to developers such as studio for development environment, player for test environment, distribution environment for outputs, community for developers.
We know all these components with technology companies that provide software development environment such as Google, Apple, Microsoft. Each of these is part of the big picture.
What void does Meta Spark AR the fill?
Meta Spark is transforming the traditional digital marketing landscape by smartly leveraging Augmented Reality and enabling brands and influencers to spread their messages creatively.
Facebook/Instagram is not an operating system like iOS and Android. Meta transforms story with Meta Spark AR and opens a big playground.
How
Spark AR offers different types of AR effects. And offers face recognition, face effects ready for front and rear camera. Ready for most effect developers; various facial expressions shake the head on the left or right, even blinking. And all this is free for developers which whether private or business users
Environment
IDE
Spark AR Studio is used free a IDE. Studio can setup on Windows or mac OS. It has all the commonly accepted features. Everything expected from an IDE. On the left side of Spark Studio, the tools and on the right, the properties of the selected tools or objects are accessed. There start a new project or continue with ready-made starter templates.
People that have worked with 3D modelling or animation software before definitely have a advantage here. Scene, camera angles and objects use to may need some time to fully utilize.
Patch Editor on Spark AR Studio
One of the most important tools in Meta Spark is the Patch Editor.
Patches makes building complex interactions inside your effects simple. Patches in Meta Spark Studio let you add interaction, animation and logic to effects.
Many capabilities available in scripting can be added to your effect as patches, so you can add and connect each other objects without complexity with drag-drop method.
Below, you can see our defined colors connected to a ui picker, an example of a patch that changes the color of our 3D object in the scene with user selection.
For more information about Patch Editor&Patches
Scripting on Spark AR Studio
If you develop any software, especially web front-end development, it is very easy to adapt here. Scripting gives you a possibility to do dynamic works.
Meta Spark Studio supports JavaScript for adding logic and interactivity to your effects.
To add JavaScript to your scene, select Add Asset > Script > JavaScript. Then you can work with this in the Code Editor. You can split scripts across multiple files.
Meta Spark Studio Extension
This is an extension available for Visual Studio Code which provides a number of features that make the development of Meta Spark effects that use scripting easier.
Meta Spark Toolkit for Blender
Meta Spark Toolkit is an add-on that you can use in Blender to optimize your 3D object and check it’s ready to import to Meta Spark Studio.
You can Make your 3D objects more lightweight and export quickly and easily.
What about 3D Objects
There will find many 3D models you need in Studio. Ready-made geometric shapes, textures, environment textures, assets, sounds and SketchFab resources.
You can connect your SketchFab account here and search and import via Spark Studio.
Test
The testing phase is very important in the development process, we need to know that everything is well. Instantly changes are observed in the emulator on Studio. This simulator enables the user to preview the scene as it would appear on the mobile device.
We should also install test player for our iOS and Android devices to observe how it works on our device.
Meta Spark Player for Desktop is The companion app for testing AR effects on your desktop.
Deployment
After creating your work you need to submit it via Spark AR hub.
The environment where our work also works live is not ios or android operating systems, that is, we distribute our printouts on facebook/Instagram.
Meta Spark Community
Communities are organizations where the open source world and software developers support each other.
The Meta Spark Community is a place where creators of all skill levels can share effects, find inspiration and ask questions about Meta Spark Studio.
Learning & Courses
If you are curious and want to learn, you have really well prepared content.
You can find content devoted to expertise and topics on Spark Meta. Or you can get certified trainings on Coursera.
Comparison
Things are simpler for Spark Ar developer. As someone who has made improvements to the AR world on ARKit or ARCore before, I can say that easier to achieve results with spark AR. Everything is within reach hand.
You can do An AR Filter with 0% Coding. Everything is prepared for AR. What you are developing is not a peripheral part of other environments.
You do not develop applications for iOS or Android environments, you produce outputs for the AR world. So you dive deep into the AR world.
You can do a lot of things without writing any code with a few drag and drop methods and links.
The biggest disadvantage is that your working outputs are not iOS, Android applications.
So your target audience is only Facebook and Instagram users.
What was once merely a concept touted on sci-fi movies is now an opportunity to create measurable value for both consumers and advertisers.
i hope so, these exciting developments will continue to be with you with new content.🖐️✍
For an extensive extended information and how to use them, please refer to the look at resources. 👇
