Vuforia allows designers to place ‘VuMarks’ onto products, which can be customised to a familiar brand graphic, but when used with an AR-enabled device, bring up an experience, such as repair instructions
The latest release of PTC’s Augmented Reality (AR) platform, Vuforia, is now available, addressing the growing demands for AR in enterprise with added support for Microsoft HoloLens and Windows 10 tablets.
Vuforia 6 introduces the VuMark, a customisable visual code that enables AR experiences to be attached to any product or object, with support for leading phones, tablets, and eyewear, allowing for a visual indicator to alert that an AR experience is available, such as step-by-step instructions for assembly, use, repair, or inspection.
The VuMark Designer enables Adobe Illustrator users to create VuMarks from existing graphics and brand assets such as logos, letting them create visually appealing tags, while capable of encoding any type of data, such as a serial number or URL.
For developers, the Vuforia Engine delivers advanced computer vision technology that determines the precise 3D location of certain objects in the camera’s field of view. By using this location, a developer can create AR content that will appear anchored to the object beneath.
As announced at Microsoft Build 2016, Vuforia Engine now supports Universal Windows Platform (UWP), allowing Unity developers to easily extend existing Vuforia projects to Microsoft HoloLens and tablets such as Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book. Developers can also use Microsoft Visual Studio to add AR functionality to existing UWP applications on tablets.
“We just crossed two major milestones on our mission to democratize AR,” said Vuforia president and general manager Jay Wright.
“First, with VuMark we have paved the way for product manufacturers and marketers to add AR experiences to any product. And with support for Windows 10 and HoloLens, we’re creating new opportunities for developers to address the growing need for enterprise solutions. This is an extremely exciting time for developers to get started with AR.”
