Mobile AR: Qualcomm vs String

They emailed it to me as an update... maybe email them?

 

Yeah, I did email them, but I'm sure it was after hours. Just curious how they were distributing it as it wasn't very clear in this thread. Hopefully I'll hear back tomorrow. Thanks.

 

Hey - o,

Is anyone else having a bit of trouble with object orientation?

I'm exporting FBX from Maya, and everything looks fine, but when i preview in the viewport the model is upside down. Do i have to flip it in MAya and animate upside-down? That sounds pretty crap.

 

If you are using String it is normal, you have to rotate the object in Unity (180 degrees).
If you want a better solution just go here:

http://pixelplacement.com/2011/07/14/introducing-string-manager/

Its really cool and you will have more options for String (Camera on the top, noise, Live light sampling etc.).

 

That looks amazing, i've been wondering about the lighting, awesome.

It may not be relevant now, but I just flipped the markers in streaming assets and no more problem. I found flipping in unity could mess with animation.

Thanks again bro.

 

You're welcome

PS: The light sampling its amazing i did some experiments with almost dark and the using a torch...it is really cool to see the specular moving according to the real light.

 

Hey,

Has anyone tried to implement something like the live light sampling in String with Qcar?

 

Hello,
there is an update for QCAR to 1.5.3 Beta (ios) now, which allows using the camera image as a texture.
So far i did not get the desired results with this. Seems like the texture is given in an odd way. on iPad 2 i get this information for the textur:

VideoTextureInfo texInfo.textureSize.x = 1024, texInfo.textureSize.y = 512, texInfo.imageSize.x = 640, texInfo.imageSize.y = 480

So why is this 1024 x 512?
Seems like the texturecontainer is 1024 x 512 but the actual image inside is only 640x480 and the right hand side and bottom area is just black.


Anyways, my main problem is, that about 1/3 of a standard unity plane recieving the texture is black and the image is distorted on one axis.

in there 1.5.3 Example dealing with video they change the UVs of the plane object. Well this might work on a plane but not with complex models.

So, anybody knows how to recieve the freakin image blown up to the actual texture dimension without any black?

 

Marjan, I had the same problem. I fixed it by offsetting the UV coordinates. You can find the details and the code here:
https://ar.qualcomm.at/arforums/showthread.php?t=1421

Even if you don't use a plane but a complex model, it should still work. Just take each UV coordinate which is already mapped correctly and shift it left/right, up/down accordingly. Also, no need to use a separate UV channel. Just sample the existing UV coordinates per vertex and offset it like this:

Code (csharp):

1.  
2.     v2f vert(appdata_base v){
3.        
4.         v2f o;
5.         float2 screenSpacePos;
6.        
7.         //convert position from world space to clip space
8.         o.pos = mul(UNITY_MATRIX_MVP, v.vertex);
9.        
10.         //Convert position from clip space to screen space.
11.         //Screen space has range x=-1 to x=1
12.         screenSpacePos.x = o.pos.x/o.pos.w;
13.         screenSpacePos.y = o.pos.y/o.pos.w;
14.        
15.         //If the video texture would not be flipped and mirrored,
16.         //the screeen space range (-1 to 1) has to be converted to
17.         //the UV range 0 to 1 using this formula:
18.         //o.uv.x = (0.5f*screenSpacePos.x) + 0.5f;
19.         //o.uv.y = (0.5f*screenSpacePos.y) + 0.5f;
20.         //However, due to the fact that the video texture is mirrored
21.         //and flipped, we have to take this into account:
22.         o.uv.x = (_ScaleFacX*screenSpacePos.x) + _ScaleFacX;
23.         o.uv.y = -(_ScaleFacY*screenSpacePos.y) + _ScaleFacY;
24.        
25.         return o;
26.     }
27.  

 

Heay elecman,

thanks a lot, that snippet might be helpfull in the future as i don´t know to much about fragment shaders.
Unfortunatly i set QCAR up in an older project. All shaders are gl 1.1 shaderlab syntax. So i cannot do this. And i used already 2 UV Sets on models. If i scale those outside the shader, my textures are out of place.

Its gl es 1 because the project needs to run even on iPhone 3 and its just a lot faster on iPad1.

On the other hand, since QCar requires gl 2 and a camera, that would mean its anyways rather for newer devices, and i could change shaders to fragment.

Well its just... with string i could achieve this quite easy with no UV scaling.

 

Doing this without a shader would be problematic I think. I guess the only thing left is to nag QCAR to remove the black region from the texture. I already added it to the wish list.

But just out of curiosity, for what are the two UV channels used for? One for the model texture and one for the environment map (video texture) would be enough it seems...

 

Hi,
this was a test on a car configurator. First UV is used on the main texture (grayscale, lets say its a diffuse bake, can be color tinted.). Second UV is for decals (Chrome-, plasticparts). Third one is then reflection.

 

Does someone have an working email address for String? I am trying to locate String iOS SDK 1.1 to evaluate it for a forthcoming project. However I am using Unity 3.4 which apparently has problems with 1.0. Tried to contact via website but no answer.

 

They always write you back if you contact them via the website. As long as the email address you provided is valid of course. But it always takes a long time, sometimes even more then two weeks, so be patient.

 

Got mail from String. Super

 

I am able to compile the String Unity Tutorial. Works fine on iPhone. However when running the app in iPad it just gets stuck to Powered By Unity splash screen. While compiling there was two warnings:

Semantic Issue: Enumeration values 'kScreenOrientationUnknown', 'autorotation', and 'kScreenOrientationCount' not handled in switch

Semantic Issue: Incompatible pointer types passing 'UIView *' to parameter of type 'EAGLView *'

XCode 4.2.1 on OSX 10.7.2. Unity 3.4.2f3. String 1.1.1a. iPad 2 with iOS 5.0.1.

Is this a hopeless combination or should it work?

 

Problem gone. I compiled once for iPhone and then again for iPad and it miraculously started to work. No changes to code in between.

 

Hi, would like to post a question to all, what would be my work flow if i want to make a animated ar, like those in the examples given (the dragon).

Sorry new to this!

 

There is no way in a million years I would pay for an AR license that charges per app when I can get a license that requires ONE payment, definitely not one that is per app AND per year!! Also limited to 1 trackable. What String is charging is practically criminal. $499 per app, per year with 1 trackable!! I can't see how their framework is so awesome that it justifies such charges and I doubt you would be able to convince customers to pay that much either. I love AR but I'm realistic and I think the majority of AR services are way overpriced. At the moment its primary use is another form of branding. Like posters, flyers, business cards, websites, but its more interactive and fun. However it does require downloading of apps and a camera device which is a greater deterrent than most people think. The concept is still new to most people so they consider it an experiment to add it to their business. Not many people will pay min $499 per year for a card where a robot pops out and breakdances. With these fees you are really limiting your services to the big companies with a lot of money to throw at advertising.

I would rather pay someone a one-off fee to create a multiple-view geometry engine than pay $7,000 per app per year. Anyhow, the market will decide. If its a rip-off then no one will be paying for it, simple as that.

 

hi, i wondered how you hid the backside of the model when it's "subversed" in the ground? is this made using a custom shader or is this available somewhere? i assume it writes the depth buffer in a first-pass-rendering with transparency?

thanks

 

ah found it: for reference it's in qualcoms virtualbuttons package as depthmask.shader material

 

The Little Brown Bear speaks out..

STRING is CRAP ... can't believe they would charge so much for a less than perfect product.

Vuforia all the way. Hats off to Vuforia ( great product its FREE ! )

Forget STRING till they reduce prices. No one in their right mind is going to pay such stupid prices. Unless you are a big mutha of a company with loads of cash to throw around... even then String is still restricted. Who wants a target card with borders... Why bother with a company that really does not give a damn is thinking only about $$$ tried contacting them on numerous occasions but support is really bad... so CYA later

I reckon they will go bust real quick... QCAR (VUFORIA ) will be the winner here ... easy to predict.

"STRING" em up .....

Vuforia iOS is great smooth as... did they mention its Free ! Wow

FORGET STRING ... GO VUFORIA all the way...

 

I've used Vuforia a little and it works great for me, I'm just a little reluctant to add it to an app because of this stuff -

What does that mean for the end user? Would you have to include this disclaimer in your app?

 

What worries me about String is that nothing on their website, nor their SDK has been updated since April. I remember talk of a developers forum being launched but there has been nothing. So not only is the cost of String an issue but I have doubts about their future based on their lack of activity. AR is all String so they should be shouting and making lots of noise but even their Facebook page is light on content. I have used Sring and Vuforia and they both have strengths and weaknesses but adding company activity into the mix for me it rules String out and it is a great shame considering their impressive start. Oh and I did drop String an email re my concerns but in a week I've heard nothing back.

 

String AR support is indeed terrible as I sometimes have to wait more then 2 weeks to get a reply on an email.

However, String AR is still being developed. I am on a private Android beta program and it is going to be released in Q3/Q4 2013

 

This thread is a bit old. Does anybody have an updated view of QCAR vs. String? The String licensing sure does suck. Did QCAR improve their tracking algorithm? Is it more snappy now, or the same?

~ce

 

Yes is there any further info on this. Any String guys around. When I go to the site these days Google has marked it as a dangerous site. (makes it look like String is out of business).

 

I tried the String demo license because i wanted to compare it to Vuforia, but I encountered linker errors when I ran the exported Xcode project. Vuforia produced linker errors too, but it was easy to find a solution (https://developer.vuforia.com/forum...ion/unity-43-ios-compatibility-and-workaround). So far Vuforia wins.

Any ideas what to do about Strings linker errors?

~ce

Code (csharp):

1. Undefined symbols for architecture armv7:
2.   "_String_SetVideoTextureNames", referenced from:
3.       RegisterMonoModules() in RegisterMonoModules.o
4.   "_String_LoadImageMarker", referenced from:
5.       RegisterMonoModules() in RegisterMonoModules.o
6.   "_String_UnloadImageMarkers", referenced from:
7.       RegisterMonoModules() in RegisterMonoModules.o
8.   "_String_InvokeGUIFunction", referenced from:
9.       RegisterMonoModules() in RegisterMonoModules.o
10.   "_String_Mobile_Library_Interface_Version_5", referenced from:
11.       RegisterMonoModules() in RegisterMonoModules.o
12.   "_String_GetDeviceVerticalFOV", referenced from:
13.       RegisterMonoModules() in RegisterMonoModules.o
14.   "_String_GetCurrentVideoTexture", referenced from:
15.       RegisterMonoModules() in RegisterMonoModules.o
16.   "_String_SetProjectionAndViewport", referenced from:
17.       RegisterMonoModules() in RegisterMonoModules.o
18.   "_String_GetData", referenced from:
19.       RegisterMonoModules() in RegisterMonoModules.o
20.   "_String_EnableAR", referenced from:
21.       RegisterMonoModules() in RegisterMonoModules.o
22. ld: symbol(s) not found for architecture armv7
23. clang: error: linker command failed with exit code 1 (use -v to see invocation)

 

Unfortunately the development of the new String beta seems to have stopped. It has been 9 months since the last update and no word of any status.

The original team which developed String has left and formed another company: http://thisistmrw.com