Mobile AR News How-Tos

How To: View Art from Your Chromecast in Augmented Reality

The Chromecast TV streaming lineup from Google is one of the more popular products in the category, primarily due to its low price tag and broad app support.

How To: Film Your Own AR Music Videos with Vidiyo, Lego's TikTok Competitor

For its latest take on augmented reality-infused playsets, Lego is giving the young, and the simply young at heart, its twist on the viral lipsync format made popular by TikTok with Lego Vidiyo.

ARKit 101: How to Place a Virtual Television & Play a Video on It in Augmented Reality

In a previous tutorial, we were able to place the Mona Lisa on vertical surfaces such as walls, books, and monitors using ARKit 1.5. By combining the power of Scene Kit and Sprite Kit (Apple's 2D graphics engine), we can play a video on a flat surface in ARKit.

ARKit 101: How to Place 2D Images, Like a Painting or Photo, on a Wall in Augmented Reality

In a previous tutorial, we were able to measure vertical surfaces such as walls, books, and monitors using ARKit 1.5. With the advent of vertical plane anchors, we can now also attach objects onto these vertical walls.

ARKit 101: How to Detect & Measure Vertical Planes with ARKit 1.5

In a previous tutorial, we were able to measure horizontal surfaces such as the ground, tables, etc., all using ARKit. With ARKit 1.5, we're now able to measure vertical surfaces like walls!

ARKit 101: How to Place a Group of Balloons Around You & Have Them Float Randomly Up into the Sky

Have you ever seen pictures or videos of balloons being let go into the sky and randomly floating away in all directions? It's something you often see in classic posters or movies. Well, guess what? Now you'll be able to do that without having to buy hundreds of balloons, all you'll need is ARKit!

ARKit 101: How to Measure Distance Between Two Points on a Horizontal Plane in Augmented Reality

In our last ARKit tutorial, we learned how to measure the sizes of horizontal planes. It was a helpful entryway into the arena of determining spatial relationships with real world spaces versus virtual objects and experiences.

ARKit 101: How to Measure the Ground Using ARKit

Have you noticed the many utility ARKit apps on the App Store that allow you to measure the sizes of horizontal planes in the world? Guess what? After this tutorial, you'll be able to do this yourself!

ARKit 101: How to Launch Your Own Augmented Reality Rocket into the Real World Skies

Have you been noticing SpaceX and its launches lately? Ever imagined how it would feel to launch your own rocket into the sky? Well, imagine no longer!

ARKit 101: How to Place Grass on the Ground Using Plane Detection

Ever notice how some augmented reality apps can pin specific 3D objects on the ground? Many AR games and apps can accurately plant various 3D characters and objects on the ground in such a way that, when we look down upon them, the objects appear to be entirely pinned to the ground in the real world. If we move our smartphone around and come back to those spots, they're still there.

ARKit 101: How to Pilot Your 3D Plane to a Location Using 'hitTest' in ARKit

Hello, budding augmented reality developers! My name is Ambuj, and I'll be introducing all of you Next Reality readers to the world ARKit, as I'm developing an ARKit 101 series on using ARKit to create augmented reality apps for iPad and iPhone. My background is in software engineering, and I've been working on iOS apps for the past three years.

ARCore 101: How to Create a Mobile AR Application in Unity, Part 4 (Enabling Surface Detection)

One of the primary factors that separates an augmented reality device from a standard heads-up display such as Google Glass is dimensional depth perception. This can be created by either RGB cameras, infrared depth cameras, or both, depending on the level of accuracy you're aiming for.

ARCore 101: How to Create a Mobile AR Application in Unity, Part 3 (Setting Up the App Controller)

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of programming languages and variations of those languages that exist. Currently, in the augmented reality space, it seems the Microsoft-created C# has won out as the overall top language of choice. While there are other options like JavaScript and C++, to name a few, C# seems to be the most worthwhile place to invest one's time and effort.

ARCore 101: How to Create a Mobile AR Application in Unity, Part 2 (Setting Up the Framework)

With the software installation out of the way, it's time to build the framework within which to work when building an augmented reality app for Android devices.

ARCore 101: How to Create a Mobile AR Application in Unity, Part 1 (Setting Up the Software)

If you've contemplated what's possible with augmented reality on mobile devices, and your interest has been piqued enough to start building your own Android-based AR app, then this is a great place to to acquire the basic beginner skills to complete it. Once we get everything installed, we'll create a simple project that allows us to detect surfaces and place custom objects on those surfaces.

ARCore 101: How to Create a Mobile AR Application in Unity

Now that ARCore is out of its developer preview, it's time to get cracking on building augmented reality apps for the supported selection of Android phones available. Since Google's ARCore 1.0 is fairly new, there's not a lot of information out there for developers yet — but we're about to alleviate that.

ARKit 101: Creating Simple Interactions in Augmented Reality for the iPhone & iPad

As a developer, before you can make augmented-reality robots that move around in the real world, controlled by a user's finger, you first need to learn how to harness the basics of designing AR software for a touchscreen interface.

How To: Make Your Own Animoji Karaoke Video

Introduced along with the iPhone X, Animoji are animated characters, mostly animals, that are rendered from the user's facial expressions using the device's TrueDepth camera system to track the user's facial movements.

ARKit 101: Using the Unity ARKit Plugin to Create Apps for the iPhone & iPad

Many developers, myself included, use Unity for 3D application development as well as making games. There are many that mistakenly believe Unity to be a game engine. And that, of course, is how it started. But we now live in a world where our applications have a new level of depth.

ARKit 101: Get Started Building an Augmented Reality Application on an iPhone or iPad Quickly

The reveal of Apple's new ARKit extensions for iPhones and iPads, while not much of a shock, did bring with it one big surprise. By finding a solution to surface detection without the use of additional external sensors, Apple just took a big step over many — though not all — solutions and platforms currently available for mobile AR.

How To: Instinct, Mystic, or Valor? How to Pick Which Pokémon GO Team to Join?

To become a tried-and-true Pokémon master in Pokémon GO, there's an incredibly important decision that needs your attention: Team Instinct, Team Mystic, or Team Valor?

How To: Improve Your Pokémon's Stats in Pokémon GO

In Pokémon GO, having an in-depth understanding of your Pokémon's stats and abilities is crucially important to becoming a better player. Not all Pokémon are created equal; as such, it's critical that you look at each of your Pokémon—even duplicates—with a keen eye.

How To: Turn Your iPhone into a Pokémon Radar for Pokémon GO

The only way to know which Pokémon are in your area in Pokémon GO is the cryptic "nearby" list, which sometimes doesn't work—and also doesn't tell you which direction to head off to hunt that Pokémon you're looking for.

How To: Why & When to Evolve Your Pokémon in Pokémon GO

Like previous installments in the Pokémon series, as you progress through Pokémon GO you'll be able to evolve your Pokémon into more-powerful monsters with new and more-damaging attacks. However, unlike older entries in the series, your Pokémon won't simply evolve when they reach a certain level. Instead, you'll have to "feed" them a certain amount of character-specific candy to induce the transformation.

How To: Use This Map to Find PokéStop Locations in Pokémon GO

If you want free Poké Balls and eggs when playing Pokémon GO, you can find them at PokéStops in variation locations around your city, which are marked with towering blue icons on your map. Once you're at Level 5, they'll also grant you Potions and Revives to help you in your battles against other trainers, so they're definitely something you should be visiting whenever you can.

How To: What Do the Leaves Mean in Pokémon GO?

While wandering around in Pokémon GO, you'll occasionally see what appears to be leaves fluttering around nearby. This is actually meant to be Pokémon "rustling in the grass," but whatever the intention, it means that there may be a wild Pokémon in that area. While there's no use in tapping on the leaves (it does nothing), they can be helpful in your search for Pokémon to catch.

How To: The Ultimate Guide to Hatching Eggs in Pokémon GO

Finding Pokémon in the wild isn't the only way to add to your collection in Pokémon GO—you're also able to hatch your own from eggs that you've gotten from PokéStops.

How To: Cheat at Pokémon GO Without Getting Banned

Gotta catch 'em all, right? That's easier said than done, considering that Pokémon GO has region-specific characters that you may never get a chance to see. Sure, you can spoof your GPS location to make the augmented reality game think you're at a different spot on the map, but Niantic Labs seems to be catching on to this method, and some users have been soft-banned for a few hours after trying it.

How To: Fake Your GPS Location & Movement to Cheat at Pokémon GO on Android

A strange thing is happening: there are people, groups of people even, walking the streets day and night staring wide-eyed at their mobile phones and laughing like manic children. What are these people doing? Are they taking pictures? Are they participating in some new social media craze? Is their activity an omen that the zombie apocalypse is upon us?

How To: Use Your Smartphone's Camera to Instantly Translate Anything

If you're standing in a foreign city, surrounded by signage in a language you don't understand, you won't suddenly be able to read it. But with a clever feature in Google's Translate app, your smartphone can.

How To: Use This App to Test Out Tattoos Before They're Permanent

If you're in the market for a new tattoo, the biggest hurdle to clear is imagining exactly how it's going to look. It's going to be part of your identity for the rest of your life, so you have to make sure it looks just right—or as your mom probably told you, "Think of what it's going to look like when you're 60."

How To: Use Augmented Reality to Try on the Apple Watch with Your iPhone

Starting April 10th, you'll will be able to book 15-minute appointments online to try on an Apple Watch in person at Apple Stores across the world. With the April 24th release date just around the corner, making an appointment is a great idea for those who are unsure about which color and size to purchase—or if they'll even want one.

How To: Translate Foreign Text Live in Real Time Using Your Smartphone

Early last year, Google purchased Quest Visual, acquiring the immensely popular augmented reality translator app Word Lens in the process. While Google did put the feature on the Google Glass, they spoke more about implementing Word Lens into their Translate app sometime in the future.

How To: Android + Drive Assist = Augmented Reality Goodness for Your Car

While texting and driving may get you a ticket, there are still a ton of uses for your phone in your car, music and navigation just to name a couple. Every Android device comes with access to GPS and traffic updates, but none of those apps really have your back in real-time.

How To: Change the Color of an Object Before Taking the Photo with Your HTC One

Aside from the most basic functions, most of us are pretty useless when it comes to Photoshop. Yes, we can all add filters, but who wants to see everything in black-and-white or sepia? Why not change a sunflower blue, your hair pink, or your lips purple—without having to spend hours with editing software.

How To: Ingress, Google's Awesome New Mind-Hacking AR Game for Android Phones Now in Beta!

Google has just launched a new revolutionary augmented reality game for Android called Ingress. Their new mobile game centers around the fight for control of the minds of everyone here on Earth. It's a freaking worldwide fight—from your smartphone! While augmented reality in is nothing new in the smartphone gaming world, it has never seen the likes of this. With an almost Halo-like storytelling, Ingress seeks to bring out gamers all across the globe to perform physical activities by transform...