Free and Open Source Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) Tools
Dr Mithileysh Sathiyanarayanan, Founder & CEO, MIT Square
Dr M.Sivakumar, Head of AI &DS, Dhanalakshmi College of Engineering
From healthcare and education to gaming and entertainment, every industry has experienced transformation due to augmented reality and virtual reality technology. Consistently, there is a growing demand for quality AR experiences on smartphones and other devices.
For students and professionals, we have identified many free and open-source augmented reality and virtual reality tools.
Google’s ARCore has many features that help integrate AR elements into the real environment, including motion tracking, surface detection, and lighting estimation. In particular, it allows 3D objects to be simultaneously rendered on different devices. It supports development in Android, iOS, Unreal, and Unity as well as 3D drawing with Google’s Tilt Brush.
Already at version 4, Apple’s ARKit is used by iOS developers to build mobile AR apps and games for iPhones, iPads, and other Apple devices. ARKit uses visual inertial odometry technology to identify the dimensions of the surrounding environment and adjust lighting conditions based on the location of 3D objects. It offers image and surface detection as well as object and facial tracking, all of which allow you to create immersive multiplayer AR games. A product of Apple, ARKit supports development in iOS only.
ARToolKit+ is an open-source software that helps solve the fundamental problems in augmented reality including geometric and photometric registration. The ARToolkit+ is a collection of software tools that provides impressive results to users. This free augmented reality software makes use of scalable AR solutions to solve real-world issues.
echoAR is a cloud platform for 3D, augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR) that provides tools and server-side infrastructure to help developers & companies quickly build and deploy 3D apps and content. With its flexible cloud infrastructure, intuitive content management and system, fast content delivery network, and other functionalities, echoAR provides highly efficient 3D development and delivery processes. It enables developers to build a 3D/AR/VR app backend and allows content creators to easily manage and publish 3D content to their AR/VR app.
Unity is one of the most popular game development tools out there and has been used to create popular games such as Pokémon Go, Hearthstone, and Rimworld. With its C# scripting API, built-in Visual Studio integration, and powerful animation tools, Unity is one of the top choices for game developers, designers, and artists.
Blender is a free open-source 3D computer graphics software suite used for creating animation and 3D models. It supports 3D modeling, simulation, rendering, and more. AR developers can create their own 3D assets by using Blender.
Mixare is an open-source augmented reality browser that works as a completely autonomous application. This free AR software is available for Android and the iPhone 3GS. It is published under GPLv3 and is also available for the development of its implementations.
Holokit is one of the top open-source software that makes use of mobile devices. The software includes the HeadKit cardboard headset and TrackKit software. HoloKit provides access to the world of mixed reality with the help of smartphones and mixed-reality apps. It provides an immersive solution to the users.
If you are looking for the best free software, then you can try BRIO which can inspire the audience. In the browser, this software supports ray tracing. There is a selection of materials and textures in the BRIO materials library, which the users can apply to the models. It is easy to share the BRIO scene online.
Adobe Aero is free software that can view, build, and share immersive and interactive AR experiences. The user does not require complex coding and can effortlessly blur the lines between the physical and digital worlds. The software provides engaging AR experiences quickly and easily.
Similar to Vuforia in many ways, Kudan uses Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) technology to create high-quality 3D graphics and recognize images and objects. Kudan has some great features such as marker-based tracking, map integration, and camera-relocalization, and supports development on Android and iOS.
Spark AR Studio is an AR platform owned by Facebook for Mac & Windows to create AR effects for mobile cameras. Designed for both developers and non-developers, Spark AR allows users to add animation, import personalized 3D objects, and share AR effects through Facebook and Instagram.
A popular AR SDK, Vuforia deploys computer vision technology to recognize and track 3D objects in real-time. It allows developers the ability to create both marker-based and markerless AR experiences and one of its highlight features is its support of persistent objects. Vuforgia Engine is free software that is used by companies of all sizes. It is considered one of the top free AR software solutions that can drive better outcomes. Vuforia provides an API for multiple programming languages and supports native development for iOS, Android, UPW, and Unity.
Wikitude is a flexible AR development tool with which developers can customize solutions and retrieve 3D objects from third-party SDKs through its own platform. Some of its features include navigation support, distance-based scaling, and localization. Wikitude can be used for Android, iOS, and Windows for tablets, and certain smart glasses.