When it comes to web-based augmented reality, 8th Wall has emerged as one of the leading platform providers, and the company just cranked up its capabilities another notch for AR marketers.
Release 11 of 8th Wall Web brings Image Targets, the company's take on image recognition for AR activations. The capability enables creators to define a 2D image as a marker and embed AR content, such as 3D models or video, which can be accessed through mobile web browsers on iOS and Android.
"Unlike other web-based image recognition technology, the image detection and tracking for 8th Wall Web is all performed directly on-device, in the mobile browser," the company announced in a blog post.
"This means better tracking performance and security for the user, as no camera data is sent up to the cloud. Secondly, image tracking can work in tandem with our SLAM engine, giving you the flexibility to design experiences that interact with image targets as well as the physical space around you."
A demo video published by 8th Wall outlines some of the use cases, such as enhancing museums and murals by making paintings interactive or bringing posters, billboards, and point-of-purchase advertising to life.
The release also includes the ability to embed QR codes and shortlinks into web pages and offers support for Microsoft's open source JavaScript framework, Babylon.js. But Image Targets were by far the most requested feature, based on a recent Twitter poll of users.
The image recognition capability enables 8th Wall Web to match similar capabilities available on the AR camera platforms of Snapchat and Facebook.
And while those social apps currently enjoy a larger presence in the AR advertiser market, 8th Wall has won over several major clients, such as Miller Lite, Lego and Sony Pictures.
Moreover, 8th Wall Web matches the image recognition tools available in Apple's ARKit and Google's ARCore, giving content publishers a more scalable option for developing their own apps (and then convincing consumers to install them).
While both tech giants also have their own web AR options, Apple's AR Quick Look only works on iOS, and Google's web-based capability for ARCore is still experimental, so 8th Wall maintains an advantage in being cross-platform.
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