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Question AR Tracking Challenges

Discussion in 'AR' started by dave_m_moore, Mar 8, 2023.

  1. dave_m_moore

    dave_m_moore

    Joined:
    Jul 28, 2016
    Posts:
    39
    Hi All,
    I'm investigating what options are available to me in the realms of general AR tracking plugins (markered and marker-less tracking, Model and Area Targets, etc..) whilst building for a Windows platform (ideally not UWP). My target is basically a Windows 10 PC with external sensors (camera(s) , IMU, etc....).

    As far as I can work out all the normal approaches (ARCore, ARKit, AR Foundations....) are not available to me because these are targeted at mobile device OSs like IOS and Android. I've had a wider look at 3rd party libraries, like Vuforia, Wikitude, Kudan but again the support for Windows appears to be either non existence (probably because many of these libraries depend on ARCore and/or ARKit) or are (at best) limited to UWP Windows which I'd prefer not to use. The only AR SDKs I can find that claim to build for straight (non-UWP) windows are EasyAR and VisionLib (although VisionLib's functionality is limited to Model targets).

    One assumes that external camera use will require custom interfaces into the chosen SDK to provide access and for camera calibration parameters. The only AR SDK I've seen that has anything like this is Vuforia but this is only deployable for Windows UWP.

    So, what is my best approach? Am I missing something? What is the best/easiest way to introduce AR tracking to Unity when targeting a straight Windows 10 platform with external sensors?

    Thanks in advance for any pointers,
    Regards,
    Dave
     
    dave_m_moore, Mar 8, 2023
    #1

  2. andyb-unity

    andyb-unity

    Unity Technologies

    Joined:
    Feb 10, 2022
    Posts:
    1,051
    You are correct that neither ARCore, ARKit, nor OpenXR support Windows. (And thus, neither does AR Foundation.)

    While we can't recommend a particular solution, the old-school way to do this is OpenCV, and newer AI-based techniques are also available but often require you to enter a business relationship with the provider. Somewhere in the middle you have Azure Kinect, Intel RealSense, and ZED.

    Hope that helps!
     
    andyb-unity, Mar 23, 2023
    #2