Sunday, 15 December 2019

WEEK 5 [16.12-22.12.2019] Blending Realities with the ARCore Depth API

Hello, most of you may have heard of ARCore from Google, which is an android library that allows you to handle augmented reality. Today, looking for a presentation topic, I found a new function for this library, which has recently been presented. The ARCore Depth API allows developers to use our depth-from-motion algorithms to create a depth map using a single RGB camera. The depth map is created by taking multiple images from different angles and comparing them as you move your phone to estimate the distance to every pixel. I think that creating a well-functioning depth recognition feature is another big step in the development of AR.
"Occlusion helps digital objects feel as if they are actually in your space by blending them with the scene. We will begin making occlusion available in Scene Viewer, the developer tool that powers AR in Search, to an initial set of over 200 million ARCore-enabled Android devices today."
I tried to check whether this function works already in my case for 3D models of animals but all the time the model is only superimposed on the image without recognizing the depth. If your phone supports ARCore, you can also check it at yourself.

Video presenting new functions:
https://youtu.be/VOVhCTb-1io

Articles:
https://developers.googleblog.com/2019/12/blending-realities-with-arcore-depth-api.html
https://techxplore.com/news/2019-12-google-flag-ar-depth-builders.html

If you have an idea for a project and would like to use this API in early access mode, please apply here:
https://developers.google.com/ar/develop/call-for-collaborators#depth-api

Questions:
1. Have you ever used AR in your projects? If so, what was it and what tools did you use?
2. What do you think the new function can be used for (apart from the ones mentioned in the article)?
3. Which AR or VR technology do you think is more future-proof? Or is it just their combination in MR (mixed reality) that is what we should develop?

23 comments:

  1. 1. Have you ever used AR in your projects? If so, what was it and what tools did you use?
    Unfortunately I have never used AR in my projects.

    2. What do you think the new function can be used for (apart from the ones mentioned in the article)?
    I think we can use the new function in entertainment. A very popular game played by children is Pokemon GO. This game use AR. This function can improve this game.

    3. Which AR or VR technology do you think is more future-proof? Or is it just their combination in MR (mixed reality) that is what we should develop?
    I think both technologies are future-proof. They have some advanteges and disadvanteges. VR is good for entertaiment to beter feel the game. AR we can use eg. to display information about car speed on the windshield of the car. MR we can use to create object and interact with them in real world. It's a great tool for designers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the answer. I completely forgot about Pokemon GO, it actually uses AR technology and its development can further improve the gameplay.

      Delete
  2. 1. Have you ever used AR in your projects? If so, what was it and what tools did you use?
    I have not and never will use VR technology in my projects. I focus on EEG technology. The use of EEG is very restrictive. The biggest problem with combining and experimenting with EEG is the creation of artifacts. When using VR goggles, a person moves all the time, waving their hands and often changing their vision fixation point. This causes the formation of muscle artifacts. The artifacts are undesirable signals of extracerebral origin recorded by EEG electrodes. The presence of artifacts in the signal limits the clinical usefulness of the examination and may lead to misleading diagnoses, including in particular the detection of non-existent neurological disorders. The combination of VR and EEG is therefore not a good idea. There have been attempts to combine these technologies before, but for these reasons they were not successful.

    2. What do you think the new function can be used for (apart from the ones mentioned in the article)?
    VR technology is now a rapidly growing field of computer science, and many are associated only with fun. However, one has to know that it is used in many areas of life, not only during computer games. Additionally, it should be kept in mind that 10% of the population is not able to know the VR image because you need to have the possibility of stereoscopic vision (I just can't see in 3D). I think that VR technology has the greatest scope for advanced education. For example, to train surgeons. Thanks to them you can "move" to the operating room and see with great accuracy how the individual human organs look like. Besides, VR is very useful and increasingly used in language learning - such learning is less stressful and more enjoyable. This technology can also help soldiers to show them what the battlefield looks like. The applications seem unlimited.
    3. Which AR or VR technology do you think is more future-proof? Or is it just their combination in MR (mixed reality) that is what we should develop?
    In my opinion a combination of these technologies is the best solution. But it will make the most sense if the basic problem is solved. The first is the size of the device. It should preferably be the size of a contact lens. After all, no one will walk, travel with big goggles on their heads. The second problem is related to human physiology. The image displayed directly on the lens is not recorded by the brain.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the answer. I see that you've focused mainly on VR, this shows that it's still much louder about VR than AR. I also see great potential in their combination.

      Delete
  3. 1. Have you ever used AR in your projects? If so, what was it and what tools did you use?
    Unfortunately, I have never used AR in my projects. but I read a lot about its use.

    2. What do you think the new function can be used for (apart from the ones mentioned in the article)?
    I think it can be used for example in the sale of houses online. using AR. Possible use in the gaming industry.

    3. Which AR or VR technology do you think is more future-proof? Or is it just their combination in MR (mixed reality) that is what we should develop?
    In my opinion, both of these technologies are very promising. And each of them can be used in some sphere. VR is used today more in entertainment, but I think with the help of it it was possible to reconstruct some historical battles, that is, to use it for educational purposes.


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks. The home sales and interior design industry in general can indeed benefit a lot from the development of this technology.

      Delete
  4. Hello,
    This is a beautiful piece of technology!
    1. Have you ever used AR in your projects? If so, what was it, and what tools did you use?
    Yes, we created once an AR project for our client from the automotive industry. It allowed you to see how your car would look like with all of the options that you choose (exterior design, color, rims, etc.). It was about four years ago, and then we used AR.js toolkit (https://jeromeetienne.github.io/AR.js/), which was pretty good enough for our needs.

    2. What do you think the new function can be used for (apart from the ones mentioned in the article)?
    I think that marketing, especially "product show," could be a good real-world example.

    3. Which AR or VR technology do you think is more future-proof? Or is it just their combination in MR (mixed reality) that is what we should develop?
    In my opinion, every part of XR (extended reality superset) would be developed in different branches of the industry.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for mentioning your project, it sounds interesting. The fact is that we now buy most things online. AR can actually be helpful when viewing products before ordering them.

      Delete
  5. 1. Have you ever used AR in your projects? If so, what was it and what tools did you use?

    I have never user AR or VR technology in my projects. The domain of my interests is far from VR or AR topics.

    2. What do you think the new function can be used for (apart from the ones mentioned in the article)?

    Maybe in medicine? My mother-in-law used VR technology during her rehabilitation in a hospital. Maybe also AR could be used for a similar purpose.

    3. Which AR or VR technology do you think is more future-proof? Or is it just their combination in MR (mixed reality) that is what we should develop?

    In my opinion in is difficult to determine which one is more future-proof. The spectrum of domains where the technology is (or could be used) is so broad, that AR, VR and MR will surely have their domains.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the comment. Medical application sounds great. I hope that in the future it will help both in the training of doctors and in the treatment of patients.

      Delete
  6. 1. Have you ever used AR in your projects? If so, what was it and what tools did you use?
    I've not used AR in any of my projects.

    2. What do you think the new function can be used for (apart from the ones mentioned in the article)?
    Given it's Google, anything advertisement-related. Maybe some better route visualization in maps also?

    3. Which AR or VR technology do you think is more future-proof? Or is it just their combination in MR (mixed reality) that is what we should develop?
    VR for sure, it's already quite developed. AR might be OK when looking thru the virtual window of mobile phone, where focus distance is not a problem. Superimposing generated graphics onto real image, when eye can focus on different depth is very difficult. I would'n count on full immersion in AR anytime soon, while I can enjoy VR games and applications now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, thanks for reminding me of that cool option. I've already tried it on Google's foot navigation and it looks pretty good. The algorithm recognizes the surrounding objects and on their basis it puts on the image arrows and distances in which we have to turn.

      Delete
  7. 1. Have you ever used AR in your projects? If so, what was it and what tools did you use?

    I didn’t use AR technology yet, but we are extending our project with VR technology and AR can be the next step. For me it’s interesting how patient with cognitive imperative's reacts on artificial realities. We want to conduct cognitive tests in normal and virtual reality and compare results, probably we add augmented reality to this comparison.

    2. What do you think the new function can be used for (apart from the ones mentioned in the article)?

    From the perspective of neurodegenerative disorders those technology can be used for diagnostic and rehabilitation. Apart from standard tests that can be used to check difference in patient results performed at virtual / augmented/ normal reality, we could perform home-task trail to asses self-reliance which could ensure longer independent life for many people with cognitive, neurological disorders

    3. Which AR or VR technology do you think is more future-proof? Or is it just their combination in MR (mixed reality) that is what we should develop?

    All of the XR technology (extended reality) seems to be future-proof to me. In my opinion graphic engines will be the changing ones, and the ones that will sustaining designers on a path to create indistinguishable XR.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the answer. Another very interesting example of medical application. I hope it will work and make the therapy easier.

      Delete
  8. 1. Unfortunately, I never used AR.

    2. I think that for showing new products or for navigation in some complicated areas such as mountains. The first thing that came to my mind are games in which, looking on the phone, we can see various animals or monsters and we can interact with them. It seems to me that there is already such an idea for Nintendo Switch with Pokemon, but I'm not sure if there is such an option also for smartphones.

    3. Interesting question. In my opinion, VR is something really amazing, because with the help of special glasses and controllers we can move to any reality. Whether it will be a game world, or a school, another country, etc. I dream of the possibility of full immersion that our whole body will be like an avatar in VR, and we will calmly lie on the bed and the only thing that will work is our brain. Of course, at this moment it is a distant future. In contrast, AR is amazing in this respect that we can observe things that are not there through our phone or goggles. We can visualize the products we would like to buy, a pet like old tamagochi. For the possibility of creating new games that require us to go outside and collect things or fight monsters just like in Pokemon GO. However, if I had to choose what is more forward-looking in my opinion, it seems to be VR. VR technology has greater potential for development and gives more opportunities to use it. Not only for games, but also in medicine for the treatment of some disorders, especially mental ones. Recently I saw an article that in some country even a cows were put in VR so they could feel like on a quiet meadow and give more milk.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for your comprehensive answer. I also saw this article about cows in VR goggles, it goes a little bit in a different direction than I expected but it looks very intriguing.

      Delete
  9. 1. Have you ever used AR in your projects? If so, what was it and what tools did you use?
    I did not know this technology before and, as a result, did not manage to use it.

    2. What do you think the new function can be used for (apart from the ones mentioned in the article)?
    I think, like the previous comments, that it can be used, among others, in games (entertainment), broadly understood constructions and finishing works of houses or other constructions.

    3. Which AR or VR technology do you think is more future-proof? Or is it just their combination in MR (mixed reality) that is what we should develop?
    I believe that each of these technologies will find or has already found its application, for example, in my area there is a VR game room. Both AR and VR have their pros, cons and supporters. People are so ingenious that they will certainly develop and mix them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks. VR is not so common yet, but not so long ago it could only be seen at the show as an additional attraction. Now more and more people can afford to buy it for their own use. I hope that soon everyone will be able to afford it, to start with virtual entertainment, but in the future who knows what else applications at home.

      Delete
  10. 1. Have you ever used AR in your projects? If so, what was it and what tools did you use?

    I take a part in one project with AR, but I have to say that my role was completly other and I was responsible for part which wasn't directly connected with AR...I made description for client to show him them after his camera have QR code in view. This project was quite easy and don't do nothing more.

    2. What do you think the new function can be used for (apart from the ones mentioned in the article)?

    I think that this function could be used in every case in which already AR was using...just better! Nevermind if this is just for fun, in real project or using it for better map navigation (that's my example of function-in maps you will see directions only when you will be after corner and don't see arrows before because they will be behind buildings)

    3. Which AR or VR technology do you think is more future-proof? Or is it just their combination in MR (mixed reality) that is what we should develop?

    I think that mixed reality is the most future-proof. That is true entertainment when you on first go to the point (using AR) and them fight with final boss in full VR enviroment...I played once in similar game and that was really addictive!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello stranger you should log in so everyone knows who you are :) I'm also betting on mixed reality, but we'll see if any technology becomes more popular earlier. When it comes to computer games, VR definitely dominates, while on smartphones Pokemon Go is popular and uses AR.

      Delete
    2. Oh sorry...I just change laptop third time in last two weeks :D!
      I think that mixed is more interesting, but need more developers to connect this both technology...that because it is so rarely

      Delete
  11. 1. Have you ever used AR in your projects? If so, what was it and what tools did you use?

    I have never used AR in my projects. I am focused at classification of EEG signals in my research. There are some articles in the Internet which are dedicated for EEG and AR but my research is based on math formulas so I do not see possible opportunities to apply VR but when I finish my PhD dissertation I will consider starting using AR with EEG experiments.


    2. What do you think the new function can be used for (apart from the ones mentioned in the article)?

    Nowadays, IT technology is developing so fast, 10 year ago we had to think about AI – what is it, now – almost every device has option “smart AI module”. I think that mentioned function can be applied not only in entertainment. This function can be used in therapy with disabled children. I suppose than it can be used by designers, for example, they have to furnish the room and using this function would make the process easier. The next branch where the new function can be used is marketing and sales.

    3. Which AR or VR technology do you think is more future-proof? Or is it just their combination in MR (mixed reality) that is what we should develop?

    Thanks for the question because I thought that there is the term virtual reality and it is the main term for all of types: virtual, augmented and mixed reality :D.
    In my opinion the most promising approach is hybrid of two types virtual and augmented reality so I think that MR – mixed reality is the most future- proof. It means than we should develop both AR and VR. The hybrid allows to expand the research and applies MR to wider use.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the reply. I see a great development of both technologies, but their combination is not so popular yet, I hope that this will change in the future and we will see more and more interesting projects using MR.

      Delete