Augmented reality (AR) is an amazing technology that dates back to the 1990s and was mostly unknown to the general public until the appearance of Google Glass and the release of the AR-based game Pokemon Go. Although, initially, it was mainly used in marketing to get the wow effect, it has since proved to be a natural interface for the user in many other fields, such as tourism, industry, medicine, and education. Its versatility of features (based on image or physical world recognition, GPS location, and more) and target devices (Android/iOS mobile devices, computer, web, and Head Mounted Displays (HMD)) makes it the perfect complement for different sectors and implementations such as industrial guides, live art experiences, and training tools.
Enterprise Augmented Reality Projects aims to take you on a journey of developing and building applications with AR using the best-known frameworks on the market. In this book, we'll explore the aspects of developing AR-based applications for six different enterprise sectors (manufacturing, training, marketing, retail, automation, and tourism) in detail, starting from the market needs and choosing the most suitable tool in each case. Each chapter will cover a new use of AR by using a different framework or target device.
The first chapter will be an introduction to AR so that you will have a good understanding of its uses and potential before starting to code. Next, we'll introduce you to Unity, an amazing 3D tool that will simplify the task of integrating AR frameworks and manipulating 3D objects and scenes in many of the chapters. Then, we'll work with Android Studio and ARCore to create our first augmented project for prototyping. Afterward, we will explore both WebAR with the Google Web Component <model-viewer>, and the emerging AR authoring tool, Augmented Class!, for education. Next, we will start working with Unity to integrate the AR framework, EasyAR, to create an AR catalog for a marketing experience. We will then continue with the Vuforia framework and use it retail. Furthermore, we will use Vuforia combined with AR glasses to create a step-by-step guide for an automation process. We will then end the book with ARKit, developed, in this case, inside Xcode, to implement an augmented dimensional portal for tourism.