Preface

Augmented Reality has been said to be the next major computing platform. This book shows you how to build exciting AR applications with Unity 3D and the leading AR toolkits for a spectrum of mobile and wearable devices.
The book opens with an introduction to augmented reality, including the markets, technologies, and development tools. You will begin with setting up your development machine for Android, iOS, and/or Windows development, and learn the basics of using Unity and the Vuforia AR platform as well as the open source ARToolKit, Microsoft Mixed Reality toolkit, Google ARCore, and Apple’s ARKit!
You will then focus on building AR applications, exploring a variety of recognition targeting methods. You will go through full projects illustrating key business sectors, including marketing, education, industrial training, and gaming.
Throughout the book, we introduce major concepts in AR development, best practices in user experience, and important software design patterns that every professional and aspiring software developer should use.
It was quite a challenge to construct the book in a way that (hopefully) retains its usefulness and relevancy for years to come. There is an ever-increasing number of platforms, toolkits, and AR-capable devices emerging each year. There are solid general-purpose toolkits such as Vuforia and the open-source ARToolkit, which support both Android and iOS devices. There is the beta Microsoft HoloLens and its Mixed Reality Toolkit for Unity. We had nearly completed writing this book when Apple announced its debut into the market with ARKit, and Google ARCore, so we took the time to integrate ARKit and ARCore into our chapter projects too.
By the end of this book, you will gain the necessary knowledge to make quality content appropriate for a range of AR devices, platforms, and intended uses.