User Manual

ARDK Setup

• Getting Started with ARDK - Get started with developing AR experiences with ARDK.

• ARDK Downloads - Downloads page for ARDK.

• Adding ARDK to Unity - How to import ARDK into Unity.

• Authentication - How to retrieve an authentication token configured with your API key.

• Building for iOS - How to build and deploy your ARDK app to iOS devices.

• Building for Android - How to build and deploy your ARDK app to Android devices.

• Using ARDK’s Feature Managers - The Manager components provide simple Unity-friendly ways to access ARDK features.

• Subscribing to ARDK Events - Get notified when AR and networking events relevant to your experience occur.

• Development and Runtime Requirements - ARDK requirements for Mac, iOS, and Android.

• Validating Device Requirements - How to check a device for AR support and update software.

• Permissions - How to handle device permissions required for some ARDK features.

• Using ARDK User IDs - How to maintain data privacy best practices by setting User ID information used in ARDK requests.

• Upgrading ARDK - How to upgrade your Unity ARDK project to a new version of ARDK.

• Using ARDK Logging - How to use ARDK logging in your Unity project.

AR Fundamentals

• Creating an AR Session - How to create an AR experience with the ARSession class.

• Tracking AR Anchors - Designate and track points of interest in the physical environment.

• Detecting Planes - Detect and interact with real-world planes to create a more immersive AR experience.

• Detecting Images - Search for images in the real world and use them for a variety of AR effects.

• Hit-Testing - Using a screen location, find points on real-world surfaces and objects.

Contextual Awareness

Depth

• Generating Depth Data - Take advantage of depth maps to create immersive AR experiences.

• Depth-Based Occlusions - Place or move content behind real world objects without breaking immersion.

• Point Clouds - Turn a depth buffer into a world-space point cloud.

Semantic Segmentation

• Semantic Segmentation - Identify real world features in your scene.

Meshing

• Meshing Overview - Understand what meshing is, what it’s best suited for, and how to best leverage its capabilities.

• Getting Started - How to setup meshing or add meshing to an existing scene.

• Addendum: Low Level Meshing - See an example memory layout of a low level mesh.

Gameboard

• Gameboard - Use Gameboard to query the environment for object placement, procedural gameplay and character navigation.

Model Cards

• Model Card: Person Segmentation - Understand the machine learning model used by the person segmentation feature of semantic segmentation.

Shared AR

• Shared AR Overview - Use Lightship ARDK to create AR experiences that multiple users can participate in

• Getting Started with Shared AR - Start creating shared AR experiences

• Setting Up a Networked AR Session - Enable nearby players to join the same AR experience.

• Localizing With a Shared Environment - Synchronize clients to a common object in their environment to ensure all clients can interact in a shared AR environment.

• Localizing With Marker Sync - Synchronize clients using CV objects (such as QR codes) for fast join and sync in a shared AR environment.

• Sharing Virtual Object Information - Share data between clients using the ARDK networking APIs

• Understanding Networking and LLAPI - Using ARDK’s low-level peer-to-peer networking API for a fluid multiplayer experience.

  • Additional LLAPI Features - Learn about additional networking features available in the ARDK.

  • Networking Limits and Best Practices - Some networking nuances to keep in mind when creating networked logic.

  • Networking Error Codes - A list of the possible error codes surfaced through the IMultipeerNetworking.ConnectionFailed event.

  • Serializing Data - Learn how to use helper functions to serialize data for IMultipeerNetworking.

• Using the High-level networking API - Quickly create distributed, stateful gameplay with ARDK’s built-in high level networking API.

  • HLAPI Network Spawning - How network spawning works with the High-level network API.

  • HLAPI FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions about the High-level networking API.

  • Tutorial: Pong - HLAPI Version - How to create an AR ping-pong game using HLAPI.

• Using both HLAPI and LLAPI - Things to consider if you have to use both HLAPI and LLAPI in your AR experience.

• Placing Virtual Content - Understand how to place and orient virtual content in a Shared AR experience.

Scanning Framework

• Scanning Framework - Use the Lightship ARDK to write code to scan locations using the device camera and use those scans in your app.

• Getting Started with Scanning Framework - Learn how to introduce scanning into your app.

• Scanning for VPS - Learn how to use the Scanning Framework to activate more locations for ARDK’s VPS functionality.

• Scanning Settings - Learn how to customize your scan visualizations, scan processing, and about the IScanner interface.

Lightship VPS

• Lightship VPS - Create immersive experiences in which your users interact with persistent, shareable AR content at real-world locations.

• Getting Started - Get a quick overview of the steps you’ll need to take to start developing with Lightship VPS.

• Geospatial Browser (Beta) - Search and find VPS-activated Wayspots across the globe.

• Managing Private Scans - Use private VPS locations in your surrounding area to test with using the Niantic Wayfarer App.

• Creating New VPS-Activated Wayspots - Submit Wayspot locations to Niantic.

• Authoring Wayspot Anchors in Unity - Create Wayspot Anchors and save them to your Unity file or project, so that you can easily create experiences for VPS end-to-end, without needing to leave your home or office.

• Building and Testing Apps with VPS - Tips on how to build and test your VPS apps.

• Generating Scans for VPS - Use the Niantic Wayfarer app to view Niantic Wayspots, create Private Scans for Private VPS Locations for testing purposes, and test localization with VPS-activated Wayspots.

• Using the VPS Coverage API - Use the VPS Coverage API to discover VPS coverage areas and VPS localization targets.

• Localizing with VPS - Synchronize users to a VPS-activated Wayspot.

• Using VPS Wayspot Anchors - Use the VPS Wayspot Anchors API to precisely place virtual objects that maintain a consistent, stable pose in an AR environment. Wayspot Anchors can also be restored in future VPS sessions and shared between users of your app.

  • Using WayspotAnchorService - Use WayspotAnchorService to create and restore Wayspot Anchors.

  • Using WayspotAnchorController - Use WayspotAnchorController to create and restore Wayspot Anchors.

• VPS Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) - Answers to frequently asked questions about VPS.

Rendering

• Rendering in ARDK - Customize how the camera feed is rendered in your app.

• Using the Universal Render Pipeline - How to use ARRenderingManager with the Universal Render Pipeline.

Tools

• Virtual Studio - Improve the experience of developing with ARDK using Virtual Studio.

  • Playing in Mock Mode - Use Mock mode to test without a mobile device.

  • Playing in Remote Mode - Use Remote mode to test on a device without redeploying to it.

  • VPS Remote Authoring - Use VPS Remote Authoring to author VPS content within Unity.

See Also

• Unity API reference documentation