At its traditional WWDC conference on 3 June, Apple surprisingly unveiled the new version of its development platform ARkit. Barely a year after version 2, the new features are already numerous and show that Apple is not only the uncontested leader in augmented reality technology but also far ahead of what we could have imagined!
Reminder: Arkit is a platform allowing developers (like Artefacto) to build applications using augmented reality on iOS devices.
Augmented reality is becoming more and more realistic
Arkit is back this year with two big innovations that will drastically change augmented reality.
Occlusion: one of the biggest problems of augmented reality has just been solved! As a reminder, augmented reality is defined by the display of a 3D model directly on the video stream of the device (smartphone, tablet and headset). If you place any physical element in front of the video stream, the 3D appears on top. But with occlusion, body tracking makes the illusion almost perfect! The object is really inscribed in the space.
Tracking: This3rd iteration ofARKit now allows tracking of gestures and therefore interaction with augmented reality or even the creation of a virtual copy of the person. This will profoundly change the way we interact with objects in augmented reality.
Many small innovations
In addition to these new flagship features, Apple is proposing several improvements to its development space. Among them, we find the possibility of using the front camera simultaneously with the rear camera, giving new possibilities of interaction with augmented reality. ARkit 3 now allows multi-sessions, better general tracking and object recognition.
Note that this new version of Arkit will be reserved for owners of iPhones equipped with the A 12 Bionic chip (XR, XS, XS Max as well as the iPad air 3 and mini 5).
Arkit 3 for augmented reality glasses?
Indeed, for a few years now, serious rumours have been circulating about the development of augmented reality glasses by Apple. Patent filings, the purchase of start-ups in the sector and the testimony of the former director of design have all led to the production of such a product. Arkit 3 has therefore been added to the list of elements that make it possible to produce such a display medium. The last locks of augmented reality are being broken one after the other in order to provide a very convincing experience, namely the perfect fusion between reality and 3D.
Arkit: when science fiction catches up with reality!
This latest version of ARkit is a small revolution from a technical point of view. It allows the creation of an ultra-realistic augmented reality that takes space and objects perfectly into account. This coincides perfectly with the development of augmented reality glasses. However, the latest rumours claim that the project is on hold. Keep an eye on it!
You can be sure that we will be following this new version very closely and of course our applications will take advantage of it as soon as possible to deliver an even more convincing augmented reality experience.
Want to know more about augmented reality? Download our free infographic!
