If you want to create immersive and interactive experiences for your users, then augmented reality (AR) is the way to go. AR allows you to superimpose virtual objects on the real world, creating a unique and engaging experience.
Before diving into the steps of activating AR on an iPhone, let’s first understand what AR is and why it’s important for app development.
Augmented Reality (AR)
Augmented reality is a technology that enhances real-world environments with computer-generated data, images, and sounds. It has become increasingly popular in recent years, particularly in the gaming and marketing industries.
AR can be used to create interactive product demonstrations, virtual try-on experiences for e-commerce, and even educational applications. The possibilities are endless, and with AR, you can bring your app ideas to life in a way that was previously impossible.
Steps to Activate AR on an iPhone
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ARKit is Apple’s augmented reality development framework that allows developers to create AR experiences for iOS devices. The first step to creating an AR experience is to install ARKit. You can do this by opening the Xcode project, selecting your target device (iPhone), and clicking on the “+” button in the upper-left corner of the screen. From there, select “Framework” and click “Next”. In the search bar, type “ARKit” and select it from the list.
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SceneKit is a 3D graphics and physics engine that allows developers to create realistic 3D models for their AR experiences. Once you’ve installed ARKit, the next step is to set up SceneKit. You can do this by creating a new file in your project called “SCNView”. This file will contain a view that displays the 3D model in your AR experience.
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Now that you have SceneKit set up, it’s time to create a 3D model for your AR experience. You can use any 3D modeling software to create the model, or you can use Apple’s built-in 3D scanner app to capture an object in real life and convert it into a 3D model. Once you have your 3D model created, you can import it into Xcode by dragging and dropping it into the project.
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ARSession is a class that manages the AR session and provides access to the device’s camera and sensors. To configure ARSession, you need to set up a delegate object that will receive notifications about the AR session state changes. You can do this by setting the delegate property of the ARSession object to your own class, which will implement the ARSCNViewDelegate protocol.
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Anchors are points in the real world that trigger an AR experience. To add an anchor, you need to use the ARWorldTrackingConfiguration class, which provides a way to track the device’s position and orientation in the real world. You can then use the addAnchor method of this class to create an anchor at a specific location.
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Now that you have your ARSession configured and your anchors set up, it’s time to display your 3D model in the AR experience. You can do this by adding a SCNView to your view controller and setting its delegate to your own class.
