AR content creation

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MagiScan App Lets Users Create 3D Models With Their Smartphone

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As if our smartphones weren’t already incredible enough, startup company AR-Generation is using them to bridge the gap between the real and virtual worlds. With their new cutting-edge app, you can create 3D models with only your smartphone and use them for any AR or metaverse application.

Introducing MagiScan

Meet MagiScan, an AI-powered 3D scanner app that produces high-quality 3D models for any AR or metaverse application. Developed by AR-Generation, a member of the NVIDIA Inception program, MagiScan is the first and only 3D scanner in NVIDIA Omniverse, a real-time 3D graphics collaboration platform.

The MagiScan app, available on both iOS and Android devices, allows users to capture an image of any object using their smartphone camera and quickly generate its detailed 3D model. AR-Feneration co-founder and CEO, Kiryl Sidarchuk, estimates that this process is up to 100 times less expensive and 10 times faster than manual 3D modeling, making it an accessible and user-friendly option for creators. With MagiScan, creators can easily refine their work and increase accessibility to AR technology.

3D scanning objects with MagiScan

While 3D scanning with smartphones is not new technology, it has significantly improved over the years. In 2015, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University developed a tool for measuring real objects in 3D space using “average” cellphone cameras. They developed their technology to perform accurate measurements so it could be helpful in self-driving cars and virtual shopping for eyeglass frames.

A similar technology was also created in 2021, called the PhotoCatch app, which uses the then-new Apple Object Capture photogrammetry technology.

How MagiScan Works

MagiScan is incredibly easy to use. Simply open the app, scan an object from all angles, and wait for a few seconds for the app to generate a 3D model. Once done, you can export your 3D model in various formats, including STL which allows you to print your model.

In addition to personal use, brands can also use MagiScan for their online platforms. Just enable “Connect MagiScan for Business,” then scan your products and add their 3D models to your website.

Exporting 3D Models Directly to Omniverse

AR-Generation also created an extension allowing MagiScan users to export their 3D models directly to the NVIDIA Omniverse. “We customized our app to allow export of 3D models based on real-world objects directly to Omniverse, enabling users to showcase the models in AR and integrate them into any metaverse or game,” Sidarchuk said.

Magiscan to Omniverse

This extension is made possible by OpenUSD or Universal Scene Description, an open-source software originally developed by Pixar Animation Studios for simulating, describing, composing, and collaborating in the 3D realm. The OpenUSD compatibility is Sidarchuk’s favorite Ominverse feature, and he believes that OpenUSD is the “format of the future.”

The company chose to build an extension for Omniverse because the platform, according to Sidarchuk,  “provides a convenient environment that integrates all the tools for working with 3D and generative AI.”

MagiScan and Augmented Reality’s Impact on E-Commerce

The impact of 3D models and AR is not limited to the gaming and metaverse realms. E-commerce businesses can also benefit from the rapid advancements in this technology.

About 60% of online shoppers consider high-quality images a critical factor in their purchasing decisions. To keep up with the competition, brands must provide more than just photos with a white background. They can also display 3D models of their products on their websites or online marketplaces to provide a more immersive browsing experience.

Through MagiScan, AR-Generation believes that conversion rates can increase up to 94%, while returns can drop up to 58%. Crisp and accurate 3D models allow consumers to visualize a product in real life, helping them make more informed purchasing decisions. This may be the same reason why Carnegie Mellon University researchers developed their 3D scanner to aid people in buying eyeglass frames online.

The Growing Significance of AR in Daily Life

Sidarchuk believes that AR will become an integral part of everyday life. And it’s not hard to see why. AR has grown in popularity over the years and is now widely used in various industries, from gaming to shopping to employee training. With AR, individuals and corporations can experience immersive virtual environments in a safe and secure way.

Thanks to advancements in technology, high-quality 3D experiences are now possible on smartphones. This means that AR and the Omniverse have the potential to impact even the most mundane activities of our daily lives. With this in mind, it’s clear that AR technology is here to stay.

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DEVAR Launches Neural Network for AR Content Creation

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The problem with today’s AR content creation platforms is that their output is usually suitable for powerful phones. But many consumers use older or budget smartphones. And they deserve to enjoy AR experiences as well. With this idea in mind, DEVAR prepares to launch the first neural network for AR content creation for augmented reality projects adapted to all devices.

The Latest Mission of DEVAR: Creating AR Content for Everyone

Big brands and gaming corporations hire experienced designers and developers to create their AR content. And they usually target consumers with new flagship phones. When someone with an older or budget model tries to install top AR apps and games, they find that they are either incompatible with their phone or they won’t run properly.

The Generative AR Platform featuring a neural network for AR will change that. Every content creator can generate 3D objects, without having to figure out all the technical detail. Moreover, these objects will be optimized for any kind of devices, including older and entry-level models.

Key Advantages of DEVAR’s Neural Network for AR

The new platform for creating AR content has several advantages that will likely attract a large number of users. First of all, the platform includes DEVAR’s no-code platform MyWebAR. Launched in 2021, this service allows users to create AR content for web (WebAR) – which can be displayed directly in a web browser, without the need to install an app.

Also, the neural network for AR will calculate all the necessary parameters for creating the 3D objects, including the number of polygons, the presence of textures, and the correct topology.

An experienced designer would need several hours to determine these parameters. The Generative AR Platform performs the computations in seconds.

Finally, the 3D objects generated by the neural network for AR can be used in two ways: as AR content and as markers.

Making AR Creation Simpler Will Increase Adoption Rate Among All Industries

AR is already in use in various fields, but more aspects of our life and work can benefit from it. But the problem is that it is still new territory, and experienced designers are very expensive to hire.

DEVAR plans to solve this issue. “Professional studios usually have no problem with creating new characters for AR – they have 3D artists, designers, and animators on staff to do this,” said the company founder and CTO, Andrei Komissarov, in a press release.  “But according to the data of our no-code platform MyWebAR, 60% of users have no experience creating AR. One of the main issues that becomes a barrier to their entry into the industry is the creation of 3D assets.”

Apart from the neural network for AR, the Generative AR Platform offers users a large library containing thousands of 2D and 3D objects they can use to create their own content.

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Blippar Expands Blippbuilder Support to AR Glasses Under New CEO

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AR creation tool Blippar has long offered its creation tool Blippbuilder, which recently implemented a “freemium” pricing model. Naturally, the tool was built around smartphones, which is how most people still experience AR. However, with the increasing prevalence of AR-enabled headsets, the company is expanding the tool’s availability.

To learn more about Blippbuilder on headsets, the company’s long-term strategy, and the effects of other Blippar developments, ARPost met the company’s new CEO, Preet Prasannan.

Meet New CEO Preet Prasannan

Prasannan is Blippar’s new CEO, but he isn’t new to the company. Prasannan discovered Blippar almost ten years ago when he was working at DreamWorks when his manager left DreamWorks to work at Blippar.

“At the time, I got very excited about what Blippar was doing in AR,” said Prasannan. “To be honest, I didn’t even know what AR was.”

Prasannan worked at Blippar for a time before leaving to found his own startup. He was still working on that project when Blippar came into problems and ultimately entered into administration. Prasannan returned to Blippar and was instrumental in its return as “Blippar 2.0” by serving as the Chief Technical Officer.

“Blippar was like family to me, so I reached out, we started speaking,” said Prasannan. “I realized that there was an opportunity to bring Blippar back to life.”

Prasannan was the CTO throughout the tenure of CEO Faisal Galaria, who recently stepped down. This offered another opportunity for Prasannan to step up.

“In December, when Faisal decided to part ways with us, we decided it would be good if I was up for it,” said Prasannan. “This is my family.”

Blippbuilder Comes to Next-Gen Hardware

The first big move under Prasannan’s leadership is bringing Blippbuilder compatibility to AR glasses. While AR on a head-mounted display and AR on a handheld display might sound similar, there were some initial hurdles.

“To be frank, it was a bit of heavy lifting when we started on headsets. The first one,” said Prasannan. “The first headset that we supported took us six months and the next headset that we supported took us 48 hours.”

The first two headsets were Magic Leap and Meta Quest Pro. While some things are being ironed out before the next selection of compatible AR headsets is released, Prasannan says that the company can essentially achieve compatibility with new headsets as fast as they are produced. Which is good, they are being produced a lot more regularly these days.

Blippbuilder for AR glasses - Meta Quest Pro

“For the next generation of AR, we have to have devices that feel natural,” said Prasannan. “It becomes a natural way of seeing and visualizing AR content.”

This isn’t just a way of future-proofing Blippar. It’s also a way to advance AR as a field worth buying into.

“If you have amazing, exciting content and a tool that creates content easily, why would you not want to buy that headset?” asked Prasannan.

A Growing Ecosystem

The announcement is exciting in another way as well: the sort of experiences that are created using Blippbuilder, particularly since it became free to use. The move has also been positive for Blippar, of course.

“We had tens of thousands of users more than usual joining us,” said Prasannan. “It seems like we took the right step when we went in that direction.”

So, who are all of those new users? Naturally, they don’t all fit into one basket, but Prasannan said that there have been a lot of educational experiences created.

“We saw a very interesting solar system being created by one of our users,” said Prasannan. “I was actually showing it to the kids in my family and the feedback was immediate.”

There has been a long-standing chasm in the promising field of educational XR. The sum is that educators don’t typically know how to build experiences and experience builders don’t typically know how to educate. Blippbuilder’s free, no-code, increasingly versatile authoring tool is helping to bridge that gap.

“One of the driving factors of switching to the freemium model was to encourage creativity in all of our users,” said Prasannan. “Right now, Blippbuilder is free so anyone can create an account and publish projects.”

More to Come From Blippar

There are more big things coming from Blippar, as a “new iteration of Blippbuilder” is scheduled to release as a beta toward the end of Q1 of this year. The tool will “make developers and technologists out of anyone who wants to” because “technology should make things more simple, not more complicated.”

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