Google provided today a preview of ARCore, an Android software development kit (SDK) that brings augmented reality to existing and future Android phones without requiring additional sensors or hardware. Developers can download the SDK immediately and start creating new AR experiences on Android.
The preview of ARCore currently supports the Google Pixel, the Google Pixel XL, the Samsung Galaxy S8 and the Samsung Galaxy S8+.
Requires Android 7.0 Nougat and above.
Google hopes that ARCore will be added to 100 million devices by the end of the preview (no date was given for the release of the final version).
Google is said to be collaborating with mobile device manufacturers such as Samsung, Huawei, LG, ASUS and many others to bring with the new SDK “more quality and higher performance” to more devices.
Today's release is the next big step in Google's plan to bring AR capabilities to more devices. ARCore is based on the project that has already been done with the company's Tango augmented reality platform.
Tango was released for the first time in June 2014 and since then has been available only on a series of devices, with two commercial phones: the Lenovo Phab 2 Pro in August 2016 and the Asus Zenfone AR this month.
ARCore is supposed to more broadly benefit Android, which Google considers “the world’s largest mobile platform.” There are over 2 billion Android.
ARCore focuses on three areas to bring augmented reality to Android mobile phones: motion tracking, environmental understanding, and light estimation.
Motion tracking is achieved by using the phone's camera to track points in the room and inertial measurements from the device's IMU sensor.
This process, called visual inertial odometry (VIO), allows ARCore to determine the position (the location and orientation) of the phone relative to the space.
Environmental understanding means that AR objects can be placed on surfaces, such as a floor or table. ARCore can detect horizontal surfaces using the same features (visually distinct features in the camera image that ARCore can recognize even when the camera position changes slightly) that it uses to track motion.
Light estimation allows ARCore to track lighting in the environment and allows developers to illuminate virtual objects in ways that match their surroundings, making them appear more realistic.
