I am focusing hard on making AR for the web a reality. This repository is where I publish the code. Contact me anytime @jerome_etienne. Stuff are still moving fast, We reached a good status tho. An article has been published on uploadvr. So I wanted to publish thus people can try it and have fun with it :)
- Very Fast : it runs efficiently even on phones. 60 fps on my 2 year-old phone!
- Web-based : It is a pure web solution, so no installation required. Full javascript based on three.js + jsartoolkit5
- Open Source : It is completely open source and free of charge!
- Standards : It works on any phone with webgl and webrtc
It works on any browser with WebGL and WebRTC. So android works. Window mobile works. IOS doesnt work unfortunately. IOS safari doesn't support WebRTC at the moment. Apple is currently working on it tho.
To try on your phone is only 2 easy steps, check it out!
- Open this hiro marker image in your desktop browser.
- Open this augmented reality webapps in your phone browser, and point it to your screen.
You are done! It will open a webpage which read the phone webcam, localize a hiro marker and add 3d on top of it, as you can see below.
So we shown it is now possible to do 60fps web-based augmented reality on a phone. This is great for sure but how did we get here ? By standing on the shoulders of giants! It is thanks to the hard work from others, that we can today reach this mythic 60fps AR. So i would like to thanks :
- three.js for being a great library to do 3d on the web.
- artoolkit! years of development and experiences on doing augmented reality
- emscripten and asm.js! thus we could compile artoolkit c into javascript
- chromium! thanks for being so fast!
Only thanks to all of them, i could do my part : Optimizing performance from 5fps on high-end phone, to 60fps on 2years old phone.
After all this work done by a lot of people, we have a web-based augmented reality solution fast enough for mobile!
Now, many people got a phone powerful enough to do web AR in their pocket. I think this performance improvement makes web AR a reality. i am all exited by what people are gonna with it :)
We are still early in the project but here are some initial numbers to give you an idea.
- I got 60fps stable on nexus6p
- Some reports Sony Xperia Z2 (2.5 years old) runs around 50fps - this is a 170euro phone
- Some reports ~50fps on a old nexus5, and ~60fps on nexus 9 - nexus5 is 3.5 years old!
- Some reports it working on windows phone edge!! 13fps on Lumia 950 for some. 40-45fps on lumia 930 for others.
Obviously you mileage may vary. The performance you get will depend on 3 things: How heavy your 3D is, How you tune your parameters and the hardware that you are using.
With this project, we bring more performance to artoolkit. artoolkit is a software with years of experience doing augmented reality. It is able to do a lot!
It is marker based. It supports a wide range of markers: multiple types of markers pattern/barcode multiple independant markers at the same time, or multiple markers acting as a single marker up to you to choose.
Recently, we’ve been getting creative and working on developing new things with AR.js. One of them is playing around with shadows, syncing the position of virtual lights with reality for a more life-like finish:
We’ve been collaborating very closely with Fredrick Blomqvist. His input has had a great impact on AR.js innovation and we want to thank him. Together, we’ve been implementing refraction, giving the 3d a transparent/glassy effect. It ended up having a nice polished look. What do you guys think?
Other crazy ideas we’ve been working on include a hole in the wall and a portal into another world. We want to take AR.js to new dimensions.
- "Shared #ar is a lot more real than solo #AR." - Augmented reality principle tweet
- "The marker must be a portal from where the virtual emerges." by @AndraConnect - #AR principles at dinner 😏 tweet
- At the three.js level is the main one. It is working well and efficiently
- a-frame component - it export
<a-marker>tag. It becomes real easy to use. It allows the things three.js extension does. Here are some slides aframe-artoolkit - webvr-polyfill: it is kind of working - still a work-in-progress
A-Frame magic :) All details are explained in this super post "Augmented Reality in 10 Lines of HTML - AR.js with a-frame magic" by @AndraConnect.
<script src="https://aframe.io/releases/0.5.0/aframe.min.js"></script>
<script src="https://jeromeetienne.github.io/AR.js/aframe/build/aframe-ar.js"></script>
<body style='margin : 0px; overflow: hidden;'>
<a-scene embedded artoolkit='sourceType: webcam;'>
<a-box position='0 0 0.5' material='opacity: 0.5;'></a-box>
<a-marker-camera preset='hiro'></a-marker-camera>
</a-scene>
</body>See on codepen or bl.ocks.org
We started a AR.js blog, thus we can write about all the crazy ideas related to AR.js.
- "WebVR for Augmented Reality - Using WebVR to write cross-platform AR applications" by @jerome_etienne
- "Augmenting The Web Page - Using WebVR to write cross-platform AR applications" by @jerome_etienne
- "Server Rendering for Augmented Reality - Cloud Rendering with Web Standards" by @jerome_etienne
- "AR-Code:a Fast Path to Augmented Reality - From qrcode to AR.js content" by @jerome_etienne
- "Augmented Reality in 10 Lines of HTML - AR.js with a-frame magic" by @AndraConnect
Some applications:
- Pattern Marker Generator : Generator of pattern markers
- ARCode Generator : Generator of AR-Code (source)
- WebAR Playground : Playground running in WebAR with ar.js/chromiumAR
Three.js Examples:
- basic : three.js example for basic (source)
- markerroot : three.js example for markerroot (source)
- mobile-performance : three.js example for mobile-performance (source)
- profile : three.js example for profile (source)
- deadreckoning : Experiment with dead reckoning - not conclusive :( (source)
- hole-in-the-wall : three.js example for hole-in-the-wall (source)
- shadow : three.js example for shadow (source)
- refraction : three.js example for refraction (source)
- markercloak : three.js example for markercloak (source)
- liquid-marker : demo transforming table and wall as liquid (source)
- holographic-message : A holographic-message in Augmented reality. Part of a business card for @AndraConnect (source)
- videoinwebgl : Add video in webgl - useful for phone-in-hmd usecase - work in progress (source)
- ar-in-webvr : Displaying AR in WebVR - work in progress (source)
- magic-book : Experimentation around magical book to open a secret door in upload.io office (source)
- measure-it : three.js example for measure-it (source)
- parameters-tunning : three.js example for parameters-tunning (source)
- multi-markers : multi markers examples - it shows how to dynamically learn a multi markers and then how to use it. learner.html is a example of dynamic learning of a multi markers configuration. It has been designed to be reusable. (source)
- multimarker-artoolkit : three.js example for multimarker (source)
a-frame Examples:
- basic : a-frame example for basic (source)
- demo : a-frame example for demo (source)
- aframe-logo : a-frame example for aframe-logo (source)
- hatsune : a-frame example for hatsune (source)
- full-hatsune : a-frame example for full-hatsune (source)
- minecraft : a-frame example for minecraft (source)
- marker-camera : a-frame example for marker-camera (source)
- multiple-indepandent-markers : a-frame example for multiple-indepandent-markers (source)
- minimal : Want to do Augmented Reality on the web ? You can do it in less than 10 lines of html now :) minimal.html is the shortest html file you need if you want to do ar.js with a-frame (source)
- mobile-performance : a-frame example for mobile-performance (source)
WebVR-polyfill Examples:
/three.jsis the extension to use it with pure three.js/aframeis the extension to use it with a-frame/webvr-polyfillis the WebVR polyfill so you can reuse your #AR / #VR content easily
It is all open source ! jsartoolkit5 is under LGPLv3 license and additional permission. And All my code in AR.js repository is under MIT license. :)
For legal details, be sure to check jsartoolkit5 license and AR.js license.
We did good on performance, but there are still a lot of room for optimisation. Using webworkers would increase cpu usage. Compiling in webassembly instead of asm.js should improve loading time and likely cpu performance. And obviously, we can still do more parameters tweaking :)
I would like people start experience augmented reality and play with it. This is highly creative! Just look at this puzzle game in #AR playing with mirror and laser beam. You could do it with AR.js, so opensource and running on normal phones, no need to buy a new device. isn't that great!
Augmented reality on phone have applications in many fields: history education , science or gaming. I exited to see what people will do with AR.js :)
- add webworkers
- add the nft
- handle sensor fusion with the IMU ? Assume that the marker is fixed in space
- marker removal in the video - https://twitter.com/jerome_etienne/status/838584931009835009
- dynamic multiple markers - https://github.com/artoolkit/jsartoolkit5/issues/34
- put the video in the webgl (and not the dom), as an options
- stabilizer for marker orientation and/or position
- some tweening/smoothing on marker orientation - maybe just a lerp ?
- it would help the shakyness especially when the source resolution is low
- stabilizer using gravity ?
- using gravity it is possible to know if the marker is on a wall or on a table
- once we flag the marker as on a wall, we can reduce shakyness from video detection
- by using gravity sensor
- discover marker absolute orientation by comparing that to the phone gravity
- can be used to know if the marker is on a table, or on a wall
- area learning with markers
- auto generation of multimarkers pattern
- the phone is in a mode acquisition
- the user walks around the room
- the phone takes statistic on markers location
- the actual area will be the average of those statistics.
- cloud computing to get better rendering
- fancy name for easy tech - Capture a MediaStream From a Canvas, Video or Audio Element
- have a browser on server to produce high quality 3d - aka pbs and to stream that to a phone
- so when the phone is moving a lot, we do the local rendering
- when the phone is stable, we do the server rendering
- social AR - https://github.com/haydenjameslee/networked-aframe/blob/master/docs/Tutorial:%20Create%20your%20first%20Networked-Aframe%20experience.md
- use a pingpong ball or a metallic ball to estimate the reality lighting
- do a jelwery examples
- get a model or ring, one model of diamond
- https://www.transpacific-software.com/webgl/ring.html?tPage=7
- https://www.shadertoy.com/view/ltfXDM
- a refraction
- one ruby, one gold
- add fresnel with bubble - even with fake envmap
- IDEA: "screen as portal" - put 4 markers in screen's corners, direct your phone at it and display a portal on the screen in #AR
Demo tested on the following browser setups:
- Desktop Chrome with webcam and 2 tabs (one for Hero, one for result) (works!)
- Android native 4.4.2 (doesn't work, doesn't ask for permission to use camera. I see white background and text)
- Android native 5.0 (doesn't work, doesn't ask for permission, I see white background and text)
- Chrome on Android 4.4.2 (works!)
- Chrome on Android 5.0 (doesn't work, asks for permission, I see black background, text and a chart)
- Safari and Chrome on iOS 8.2 (iPad) (doesn't work, doesn't ask for permission, I see white background and text)
- Microsoft Edge on Windows 10 (Chrome on Google Pixel phone to view hologram)
Credits: @HelloDeadline, @sorianog
- AR Gaming - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmGGGzibGok
- AR Business Card - https://vimeo.com/4979525
- plug ar.js into sketchfab
- do a mockup with the monkey script
- add a AR button on sketchfab, it pops up on marker on the screen with the instruction to connect to it
- then you display the model in 3d on top of the screen
- some simple user content
- multi user AR world : much easier to code than you think - https://twitter.com/jerome_etienne/status/842219346030149632
- IDEA: produce a single image able to do qr-code and pattern marker. https://twitter.com/nlehuen/status/834115970641829888
- about having an image able to do qr-code and pattern marker at the same time. If we have such image, we skip one step.
- The person first acquire the qr-code with his phone, and then it goes to a webpage which is a webar application.
- thus the publisher only has to publish this on its ads, likely on paper ads in magazine or in the street.
- and the user can use his phone to immediatly see the related augmented reality
- https://techcrunch.com/2017/02/02/google-chrome-gets-its-own-qr-code-barcode-scanner/
- somebody did it! https://twitter.com/alan17wilson/status/847738517669027842
- do something with ps vita AR cards
- http://ie.playstation.com/media/8DokiOUp/AR%20Play%20Cards.pdf
- print it on hard papers
- find the kind of matrix it is.
- just put each marker in front of the camera - using image / photo of screen
- and go thru each and every matrix type detection
- Nice effect with video texture - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9HMn6bd-v8&feature=youtu.be&t=172
- Nice snowball effect - http://www.spacegoo.com/bubbles/
There is no absolute. It is a ratio between the physical size of the marker, and the resolution of the camera image. It is a tradeoff: the larger the camera image, the slower it is running. The larger the camera image, the smaller the marker can be.
To run AR.js locally on your computer, first clone a copy of the repository, and change to the AR.js folder:
git clone [email protected]:jeromeetienne/AR.js.git
cd AR.js
After that, serve the files using a static http server. I use a simple command line http server called http-server.
This can be installed using npm:
npm install -g http-server
to start the http-server, simply run:
http-server
On mobile, accessing the camera using getUserMedia requires that you have a secure HTTPS connection to the server. To do this, you will need to generate a certificate by running:
openssl req -newkey rsa:2048 -new -nodes -x509 -days 3650 -keyout key.pem -out cert.pem
This will generate two files: key.pem and cert.pem.
You then run the server with the -S to enable SSL and -C for your certificate files:
http-server -S -C cert.pem -o
Alternatively, you can deploy to github pages which by default, is served using HTTPS. This avoids having to configure a SSL server.
Also working from localhost, you can avoid having to use HTTPS since localhost is assumed secured.
Thanks to @mritzco for configuration directions.
# replace REVISION to the proper version
atom three.js/threex-artoolkitcontext.js package.json
# Rebuild a-frame and webvr-polyfill
(cd aframe && make minify) && (cd webvr-polyfill && make minify)
# Commit everything
git add . && git commit -a -m 'Last commit before release'
# tag the release
git tag 1.0.0
# push the tag on github
git push origin --tags
# update npm package.json
npm publish
# update the a-frame codepen
open "https://codepen.io/jeromeetienne/pen/mRqqzb?editors=1000#0"