Understand basics of WebAR and Augmented Reality.
What is WebAR technology: -
WebAR is short for Web-based Augmented Reality, and it’s a relatively new technology that does not require a mobile application to function. Users can access AR experiences directly from their smartphone using the native camera and mobile web browser. This seamless user experience is one of the main reasons WebAR is rapidly growing in popularity.
Benefit of using WebAR: — The most important feature of WebAR is it is an App-less AR experience. That is, unlike App-based or Native AR, the user does not need to download any Android or iOS App to indulge in the AR experience. The user can directly access the AR through any browser by scanning a QR code or tapping on the link. Some other benefits are -
1. Accessibility: Web AR can be accessed by anyone with a web browser and a mobile device, without the need to download and install a separate AR app.
2. Convenience: Users can access Web AR experiences instantly, without the need to download and install an app or visit a physical location.
3. Cost-effectiveness: Compared to traditional AR apps, developing, and distributing Web AR experiences can be more cost-effective, as they don’t require the same level of investment in app development and distribution
4. Engagement: Web AR can enhance engagement with products and services, as it provides an interactive and immersive experience for users, allowing them to visualize and interact with products in a more meaningful way.
5. Flexibility: Web AR can be easily updated and modified, allowing businesses to adapt their AR experiences based on user feedback or changing business needs.
Different techniques to build WebAR application: -
1. Marker-based augmented reality — Marker-based augmented reality experiences require a static image also referred to as a trigger photo that a person can scan using their mobile device via an augmented reality app. The mobile scan will trigger the additional content (video, animation, 3D or other) prepared in advance to appear on top of the marker. Marker recognition can be local, or cloud based. There is an online tool available which can be utilized to create a marker.
2. Marker less augmented reality — Marker less augmented reality works by scanning the surrounding environment, and there is no trigger photo necessary to retrieve the augmented reality content. Apps that offer such features will usually ask the user to find a flat surface such as a table or floor for placing the AR elements, as the objects will not always make sense floating in the air. For computer vision to detect a flat surface, it has to be textured. You will find it challenging or even impossible to use on a white background or on other single-color surfaces.
3. GPS-based augmented reality — GPS or location-based AR solutions respond to the sensors of your mobile device. It allows for objects to be placed in a certain location and as long as the public has the app, they can retrieve it regardless of the time of day or weather conditions.
Technologies used to create WebAR app: -
There are multiple technologies involved for creating WebAR experience. It requires 3d modelling of an object which can be projected in real world with the help of Augmented Reality Engine. There are basically 2 approaches to create WebAR application.
1. Custom development of an application with JavaScript frameworks — It requires 3d models and script to render these 3d models. Below is the available framework to build an WebAR application.
- Augmented Reality Libraries: -
· MindAR — MindAR is an open source web augmented reality library. It supports Image Tracking and Face Tracking. MindAR started with AFRAME integration, so the majority of these documentations are written for AFRAME integration. Starting from version 1.1. 0.
· AR.js — AR.js is a lightweight library for Augmented Reality on the Web, which includes features like
— Image Tracking — Identify 2D images and display related AR content
— Location-based AR — Display AR content based on the location
— Marker Tracking — Using markers like QR codes to display related AR content.
- 3D Modeling libraries: -
· A-Frame — A-Frame is a web framework for building virtual reality (VR) experiences. A-Frame is based on top of HTML, making it simple to get started. But A-Frame is not just a 3D scene graph or a markup language; the core is a powerful entity-component framework that provides a declarative, extensible, and composable structure to three.js.
· Three.js — three.js is a JavaScript-based WebGL engine that can run GPU-powered games and other graphics-powered apps straight from the browser. The three.js library provides many features and APIs for drawing 3D scenes in your browser.
· babylon.js — One of the most used features in Babylon.js is the Node Material. This advanced material type allows you to create incredibly complicated and interactive shaders without writing a single line of code! With Babylon.js 6.0 we’ve done a lot of plumbing under the hood to make it more powerful than ever. With this work it is now possible for developers to build more advanced 3D Graphics techniques into Node Material shaders including things like Ray Marching.
Working example of an WebAR application created with Ar.js and A-Frame can be seen here.
2. By utilizing Low code no code platforms: — Some platforms are given below.
- 8thWall
- Mywebar
- Vossle
Architecture: — The architecture of Web AR (Augmented Reality) involves several components that work together to provide a seamless AR experience. Here are the key components of Web AR architecture:
Web Browser: The user accesses the Web AR experience through a web browser on their device, such as Google Chrome or Safari.
AR Engine: The AR engine is responsible for recognizing images or objects in the user’s real-world environment and overlaying virtual content on them. This is usually done using computer vision and image recognition algorithms.
3D Content: The 3D content is the virtual content that is overlaid onto the user’s real-world environment. This can include 3D models, animations, videos, or other types of digital media.
APIs: APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) are used to enable communication between the AR engine and the web browser, as well as between the web browser and other external services or databases.
Web Server: The web server hosts the AR application and serves the 3D content, images, and other assets required for the AR experience.
Mobile Device: The user’s mobile device is used to access the Web AR experience and display the virtual content overlaid onto the real world.
Deployment: — These are the normal web apps and can be deployed in the same manner as web applications.
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