Google announces a slew of new ARCore apps, based on the recently launched AR platform
Google announces a slew of new ARCore apps, based on the recently launched AR platform
Google recently launched ARCore 1.0, enabling developers to build augmented reality applications that will turn your Android smartphone into a conduit for AR interactions with your surroundings. Just after a few weeks since ARCore 1.0’s launch, there are a number of such applications made available on Google Play, and they run the gamut from gaming, shopping, home, and creativity.
The new ARCore-enabled games include My Tamagotchi Forever, which will allow players to rear Tamagotchi characters in the virtual town of Tamatown. The virtual town will be based on your familiar surroundings.
Speaking of virtual pets, Tender Claws design studio has created TendAR, a game that centers on Guppy. It is a virtual fish that responds to your facial expression, and it feeds off other people’s emotions. The game is based on the combination of ARCore and Google Cloud APIs, “which provides computer vision and object recognition.” TendAR will only be available from July 2018.
Fans of the Walking Dead series will have the chance to immerse themselves in zombie apocalypse with the upcoming Walking Dead Our World. This game uses both Google Maps API and ARCore to create a location-based augmented reality game.
Besides using AR for immersive gaming experiences, it is also employed to solve our everyday issues like choosing a right-size shipping carton for your product delivery. eBay is using AR on its mobile app to help sellers determine which container they need to send their products.
The other ARCore-based applications include Pottery Barn 360 Room View that allows buyers to view their ideal furniture pieces in their own abode before committing their purchases. A similar AR experience can be viewed with Sotheby’s International Realty Curate app, which helps homebuyers “envision the house in their personal taste and style.” The last feature application is Streem and it links up users with home maintenance professionals to help users with their “household maintenance requests.”
For creativity projects, the company has made its Java-based Just a Line open source. It hopes to spur developers to create more ARCore projects with this application. Google appears to be on the path to democratize augmented reality usage, one Android smartphone at a time.
(Source: Google)