Launch shared AR experiences in seconds.
Augmented Reality (AR) technology lets you change the world around you by overlaying digital content that can be used to find your friends at a crowded music festival, fight crime as a marvel superheroesand bring conventional life tattoos. That said, creating shareable, interactive AR experiences can be tricky.
ConjureKit is a new socialAR SDK from Auki Labs that allows developers to create AR experiences where users can easily drop AR objects into their physical environment without having to scan the world around them. What’s even more amazing is that you can invite multiple friends into the experience and interact with each other in real time.
In a YouTube video created by company CEO Auki Labs Nils Pihl can be seen walking in a rural area. He then “drops” an AR remote control car onto a small cement ledge and begins steering it around a pair of virtual orange cones. Of course, driving a remote control car is much more fun with friends. Pihl shows the potential of ConjureKit by inviting a friend via a standard QR code.
In an interview with VRScout, Johannes Davidsson, Head of Business Development for Auki Labs, Davidsson spoke about the SDK tool, saying, “Until now, AR has been a single-player experience, in part because setting Implementing shared AR sessions has been laboriously slow and difficult for developers to achieve. We are currently on the verge of bringing digital information into the material world,” adding, “Now we envision a world where anyone can see digital information and objects in exact locations, with great precision, occurring simultaneously on all devices”.
Auki Labs started in 2019 when Pihl and a team of engineers started working on an AR measurement tool for the popular tabletop game Warhammer 40K. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to create a truly shared experience due to the limitations of augmented reality at the time.
Positioning of AR content wasn’t very precise, and launching the experience required pre-analysis, which wasn’t conducive to jumping quickly into a game or experience. They also found that it was almost impossible for other devices to synchronize with each other’s relative positions. The team tried every available solution, but none could deliver the experience and accuracy that end users would expect and accept. So they continued to explore solutions.
After conducting additional research, the team developed a system they call “Instant Calibration”. With this approach, users can join each other’s games via a standard QR code. Simply open the app on a device and scan the code on the screen to join instantly.
This is done without having to pre-scan your surroundings or send environmental data over a network, promising instant calibration between devices in less than a second.
“Auki Labs is working on technology that allows persistent AR to take minutes to set up,” Davidsson said. “You can scan a designated QR code on the wall and add a 3D model of the solar system to the middle of the classroom. When kids walk in, they scan the physical QR code on the wall and instantly see a solar system, in the same place the teacher has positioned it. And the animations are synchronized across all devices. This kind of learning could save teachers hours upon hours that they can now spend interacting with their students and doing less overtime preparing materials for class. »
Of course, ConjureKit will offer users something beyond gaming and education. Davidsson tells me that Auki Labs’ technology would have a “clear impact on spatial information being placed correctly for all participants to see as a tool for enterprise solutions.” An example is the use of ConjureKit with dynamic pathing through warehouses and displaying sensory data. This approach could contribute to workforce efficiency and ensure employee safety through shared training experiences.
When asked if ConjureKit works with devices like the Meta Quest Pro or the Magic Leap 2 mixed reality headsets, Davidsson says they expect support for all major AR-capable head-mounted displays and that Auki Labs is already in conversation with several headset manufacturers.
“The ConjureKit was envisioned as a tool for creatives, storytellers and world builders to channel their inner vision and build that Terence McKenna would describe as “all the castles of the imagination”.
Learn more about Open laboratories and register to use the ConjureKit SDK here. Join the Auki Labs discord here.
Image Credit: Auki Labs
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