Getting started with Augmented Reality

As I started getting into Augmented Reality application development, it was hard for me to find a resource that clearly explained the steps I should take to start developing AR applications. So, I built my own! Here is my guide on Getting Started with AR on the Microsoft HoloLens:

Install the necessary applications:

HoloLens Emulator — Holographic Academy Tutorial Project

1. Unity is a Game Engine and you will primarily use this to develop your applications 3D content. Download the latest version of Unity.
2. Visual Studio is an Integrated Development Environment that you will use to write code and run the HoloLens Emulator. Download the latest version of Visual Studio (Community, Professional and Enterprise are compatible) with the Universal Windows Platform Development Workload and the Game Development with Unity Workload.
3. HoloLens Emulator allows you to run Windows Holographic without the actual HoloLens device. To install the emulator, your system must support Hyper-V. You can download the installation file here.
   To enable Hyper-V, Go to Control Panel → Programs → Turn Windows features on or off. Scroll down and check Hyper-V
   The HoloLens Emulator requires Visual Studio 2015 with Update 3 to function. The install does not complete if you have only Visual Studio 2017 installed. The quick fix to this is to install both Visual Studio 2015 with Update 3 and Visual Studio 2017 on your PC. You can find all the older versions of Visual Studio here: my.visualstudio.com

Resources to get you started on Unity and C#:

Sample Code from Unity Tutorial

1. Microsoft Holographic Academy: This is exactly where a beginner to AR Development should begin. These tutorials show in detail on how to use the various features of the HoloLens and how to build applications with them
2. Unity Tutorials: These tutorials are not for VR/AR but are great to get to know Unity’s features and learn some C#.
3. Microsoft Visual Academy’s VR/AR Course: This short course is great to learn different key concepts in VR/AR.
4. Fundamentals of Holographic Development: This link explains all the key concepts in developing applications for the HoloLens
5. Fundamentals of Holographic Design: This link covers designing quality holographic experiences

I find that the best way to learn to develop is through project-based learning. Think of a game or application that you want to build and start building it. You don’t need to make it amazing at first but you can re-iterate on the game to make it how you envisioned. Throughout the process of building your application, you will have to do a lot of research to write C# and learn how to use Unity. Some resources you can use during this process are Unity Documentation and Stack Overflow.

Software Development Kits:

1. HoloToolkit is a collection of scripts and components made to accelerate development on the Microsoft HoloLens. You can find instructions on installing and a guide to using the toolkit here: https://github.com/Microsoft/HoloToolkit-Unity/blob/master/GettingStarted.md
2. Vuforia allows you to create Holographic applications that can recognize objects in the environment. To use Vuforia, you will need to have Unity Technical Preview but this is only available in an older version and in a beta version. You can find guides to using Vuforia here: https://library.vuforia.com/guide

Staying updated on the Augmented Reality Industry:

Setting up Google Alerts

1. Setup Google Alerts for “Augmented Reality” and “Mixed Reality”
2. Subscribe to Road to VR, UploadVR and Venture Beat.
3. Listen to the Voices of VR Podcast.
4. Read Articles from Next Reality — Augmented and Mixed Reality News

You can do a lot of development with just the emulator alone but if you are able to get your hands on a HoloLens, your understanding of the features such as Gaze or Air-Tap will be much clearer. The Emulator does not give you the same view that your would get with the actual HoloLens because you are unable to see the actual environment around you and experiment with the terrain.

I would recommend that you should go to every VR Meetup or conference that you can. I just attended VRTO and it was an amazing experience. Conferences like VRTO are a great way to meet industry experts and make valuable connections. I would also recommend that you should try every VR/AR demo available.

Hope this guide helps you as you begin to develop AR applications!

In the future, I plan to post similar articles on Medium going into more detail on different aspects of Unity and the HoloLens. Stay Tuned!