This is my first project for the CS428: Augmented and Virtual Reality course at UIC. I used Unity with Vuforia to create two AR knickknacks, similar to the kinds of trinkets one can buy at gift shops to remind you of the place you visited. The two destinations I chose were Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, and the Golden Bridge in Da Nang, Vietnam.
Each knickknack includes the name of the place it represents, a logo, plus current time and weather conditions of the area. Each cube also has a sound effect associated with it. For the Golden Bridge, I chose a forest background noise; and for Kennedy Space Center, I chose a space-y sci-fi sound. Turning the cube upside down switches the lighting to a different one, and turning it again will switch back.
Here is the video for the project: https://youtu.be/pwgtuoSETZQ
Please make sure to first install Unity Editor version 2021.3.6f1 (how to do so), and build the two papercraft Vuforia cubes.
- Unity Editor 2021.3.6f1
- Vuforia 10.10 (should come with the source code)
- Note for Andy: Using Vuforia 10.9 was causing Unity to constantly crash for me, while 10.10 seems to work. I don't know why.
- A working webcam
- Two little Vuforia cubes (zip file containing the cubes printout)
**TL;DR: Download source code, open project in Unity, hold up cubes in front of your webcam. **
To view the knickknacks yourself, you can download the projects source code from the github page.
Unzip this file into the directory of your choice.
In the upper right corner of the Projects tab of Unity Hub, click 'Open'.
Navigate to the directory you extracted the project into, select the project folder and press 'Open' once again.
The project should now be visible in the list. Make sure the correct Editor version is selected.
Click on the project to open it in Unity Editor. It may take a while to load, but once it is open, you should see the two cubes in the scene. To view the cubes in AR mode, press the play button in the upper part of the window.
This will open your webcam, and you will be able to view the knickknacks by holding up the two Vuforia cubes you painstakingly built earlier.
Go to https://unity.com/ and download and install Unity Hub. Once you have it ready, open it and click Installs, and then Install Editor to add a new Unity version. For version 2021.3.6f1, which is the version I used to create this program, we have to click the Archive tab and then the Long-Term Support text to open the online download archive in your browser. Click on LTS Release 2021.3.6f1 and Unity Hub will start installing that version. (Note: other/newer versions of Unity might still work with this project, but this is the version I worked with.)
You should have it install:
- Unity
- Documentation
- Android Build Support (for running on the Oculus Quest, or Android Smartphone)
- click on the little arrow and make sure Android SDK & NDK Tools and OpenJDK are both selected
- iOS Build Support
NOTE: You will need to be admin / root to install Unity in the default location, otherwise Unity Hub will download the files and then fail (mostly silently) on the install. To get around this you can click on the gear on the left pane of Unity Hub, click on Installs, and then change the Installs Location to a place you do have write access to, say somewhere in your home directory.
Unity installation instructions adapted from Andy Johnson's CS428 website (https://www.evl.uic.edu/aej/428/syllabus.html)
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Flag model by me
It was surprisingly annoying trying to get the flag to be the right side up on both sides.
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Moon ground model by me
Made in Blender, I thought the base would look nicer with a bit of a tilt to it rather than a simple cube.
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Astronaut by Poly by Google [CC-BY] (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/) via Poly Pizza (https://poly.pizza/m/dLHpzNdygsg)
I edited it to be lower poly using Blender (for better performance). I guess this is Neil Armstrong.
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Earth by Poly by Google [CC-BY] (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/) via Poly Pizza (https://poly.pizza/m/88CP80Kgb-u)
It's always really cool to see pictures of the earth from space, and I thought having it there would help with the atmosphere. I lit it up from the bottom to help with the look.
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Rocket ship by Poly by Google [CC-BY] (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/) via Poly Pizza (https://poly.pizza/m/4mPkOKdzAk-)
I wanted to use the actual Apollo 11 Lunar Module here instead, but every model I could find online (especially the official NASA one) was way too detailed and too difficult for me to simplify in Blender. The rocket ship might get the idea across better anyway.
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US flag from Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_the_United_States.svg)
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Kennedy Space Center logo from Wikipedia (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kennedy_Space_Center_Logo.svg)
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Sci Fi Vortex sound effect by Audio Library on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evsCVTs-_s8&list=PL4JKIH8uMAXyIKJLlZlrYUJzi0_iTAS_3&index=2)
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Bridge model by me
It's a nice shiny gold, just like the Golden Bridge name implies. The bridge itself is held between the two giant hands, and it looks pretty cool.
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Green knickknack base by me I thought the knickknack would look nicer with a thicker raised base, and the mountain scene model I was using was too thin. It's just a simple green box.
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Low Poly Right Hand by Raziq Brown [CC-BY] (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/) via Poly Pizza (https://poly.pizza/m/cl8ax5B13cp)
I just flipped it in Unity to create a left hand to go with it. These represent the two giant hands built to look like they are holding the bridge up.
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Mountain Scene by Mike Boyer [CC-BY] (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/) via Poly Pizza (https://poly.pizza/m/erukwNZWue-)
The actual Golden Bridge is pretty high up and has a wonderful view of the landscape around, and I thought this was a nice representation.
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Pine tree by Poly by Google [CC-BY] (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/) via Poly Pizza (https://poly.pizza/m/bpV3f5je3rl)
The bridge also has a huge forest around it, and it has a lot of pine trees!
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Cloud by Poly by Google [CC-BY] (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/) via Poly Pizza (https://poly.pizza/m/44cGXp6_8WD)
I thought these clouds would help the knickknack look nicer while representing how high up the bridge is. It's also quite common to have mist roll in around the bridge, so this helps with that look.
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Da Nang logo from Da Nang goverment official website (https://danang.gov.vn/web/en)
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Forest Ambience by Travel Bucket on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9L1tsQuuSI)
Currently, the process for viewing and interacting with these sorts of AR knickknacks is rather tedious and not really worth the trouble when the novelty wears off after the first or second time trying it (at least in my personal opinion). However, if it does become common to start using eyewear that shows VR objects around us, I can definitely see these sorts of objects becoming popular. Everyone likes collecting useless little objects (citation needed), and if they can do useless little things, that’s all the better!
I think things like little statues or action figures that fans of media franchises often collect would be one good option for a place to use this technology in. Something that is currently static could have all sorts of animations, music, etc. to go with it and make it more exciting. And it doesn’t have to be a 3D object, it could also be used for posters or stickers. And just like this project itself, it could be used for souvenier knickknacks as well. Instead of a regular snowglobe, you can get an AR snowglobe, or an AR fridge magnet. Everyone likes collecting useless little objects (citation needed), and if they can do useless little things, that’s all the better!
It also has great (or terrible, depending on your perspective) ad potential. Imagine animated billboards, or milk cartons that play an advertisement as soon as you pick it up. I definitely think this is one of the biggest ways that the technology will be used in the future. This sounds pretty annoying to me, especially the billboard thing (not to mention potentially dangerous as it could be extremely distracting to drivers) but that has not stopped advertisement before and honestly might be a plus. It offers a new way to grab people's attention, so I'm sure ad companies would jump on the opportunity.
On a more practical level, it could also be used for things like road signs, or maps, as long as it’s reliable enough. It could be pretty useful to have some 3D arrows showing you how to get to the mall bathroom instead of having to trace it out yourself through a map. The only issue I can see is that if it is used in place of purely physical road signs, I can see a moments lag or change in the environment around the sign (without the sign itself being updated) being potentially disastrous. And again, maybe too distracting for the road. So perhaps it is best to stick to physical road signs that do not have the failability of technology like this.