How can you make 3D models and animations more immersive in AR?

Elevate AR immersion with 3D models and animations. Focus on detail, realistic textures, and precise scaling. Interactivity engages users, allowing manipulation and exploration. Spatial sound enhances realism, and seamless integration aligns virtual objects with the physical world. Dynamic animations responding to triggers add vitality. Tailoring content to surroundings enhances context-awareness. Through these strategies, AR experiences become more captivating and immersive.

I believe that we have a lot more experimenting to do as we move forward with AR. So many of us are using it to simply add a few layers of digital characters and environments to the real world around us. But I think we can take it farther, actually making the user feel that they have truly been transported somewhere else while still being aware of their actual surroundings. Imagine exploring a dungeon within the confines of your own home. Look out for the Minotaur!

I found it helpful to blend AR content into Reality. A clear example in our app for exhibitions is when you look at an image on the wall in reality but in AR a hole in the wall replaces the image and when you look through it you see relevant AR content.

In my experience the best way to attain sophisticated AR aesthetics than can also be easily ingestible to the user is creating something relatable but of higher definition, for Example an AR experience meant to be consumed by soccer/football users should have an object like a ball.. But with a more defined and sophisticated approach.. E.g a utopian ball with certain interactions and functions.. This stimulates them in a familiar but a more heightened manner 😁.

Realistic Lighting: Mimic real-world lighting conditions to create a sense of depth and realism in your AR scene. Use dynamic lighting that responds to the environment, casting shadows and highlights on your 3D objects. Accurate Scale: Ensure that the size and scale of your 3D models match the real world. This helps objects appear more convincing and integrated into the AR environment. Environmental Interaction: Make your 3D objects interact with the physical environment. Realistic Textures and Materials: Apply high-quality textures and materials to your 3D models to make them look more lifelike.

You might also want to consider using real-time reflections as part of your augmented reality experience. Real-time reflections render virtual objects with accurate reflections, mimicking the real-world around them. Techniques like cube mapping and ray tracing simulate how light interacts with an object which enhances its realism.

Making immersive AR experiences is to strike a balance between technical prowess and creative storytelling. Creating immersive 3D models and animations in augmented reality (AR) involves a combination of technical expertise, creative design, and understanding user experience. There are a number of strategies that can improve 3D model immersion in AR including: 1. Realistic Rendering and Lighting 2. Accurate Scale and Proportion 3. Environmental Interaction 4. Physical Interactions 5. Multi-user Interaction 6. User Interface Integration 7. Dynamic Animations 8. Contextual Storytelling 9. Depth and Parallax 10. Persistent AR 11. Spatial Audio 12. Visual Occlusion 13. Performance Optimization 14. User Feedback and Testing

One thing I have seen many do in the beginning is that they lose the balance between polycount and texture size/details during the optimization process and end up with either very low quality models with highly detailed textures which still look unbelievable, or they have a decent number of polygons on the model, hence usually more details, but the textures are off or too small and have not a reasonable amount of details and liveliness to them, making the end result look not as good as it could have been. Always keep an eye on the model and the textures as a whole and don't lose the sight of the other while working on another.

You can dramatically add immersion to an augmented reality experiences with physics. Adding physics to an augmented reality experience involves simulating realistic interactions between virtual objects and the real world. This can include behaviors like gravity, collision detection, and object dynamics. Developers use physics engines to achieve this, creating a more immersive and believable AR environment. By integrating physics, virtual objects can respond to real-world forces and user interactions, enhancing the overall AR experience.

By adding occlusion in AR we can definitely increase immersiveness of the spatial experience. This means AR virtual 3D objects that are placed behind the real-life objects should be partly covered by those physical objects. Occlusion gives a feeling of depth, ensures digital objects are accurately blended with the physical objects in the scene and are perceived as if they are actually in the real environment.

Interactivity and feedback are pivotal to an AR multi sensory experience. Some items to consider when planning your 3D and animated creations: - How can you add Moments of Joy to the AR experience with your content? - How can you implement your content more spatially to enhance the experience further? - How can audio or VFX serve to enhance the 3D and animated content? - How can you best plan your 3D content creation to visually perform as well as possible in both bright and low lighting AR situations? - What can you add to plus your 3D content with multi-sensory experiences such as haptics? - What are the key moments in your AR experience? How can your 3D or animated content serve to support those moments further?

You could also consider adding continuity and persistence to the experience, to create a more compelling and immersive experience. Continuity enables users to return to an AR experience and find the virtual elements exactly where they left them, even if they've exited the application or AR session. Persistence allows virtual objects or models to remain stable as users move around or interact with the physical environment, and ensures that virtual elements don't jitter or disappear. Continuity and persistence contribute to a reliable AR experience that feels integrated with the real world, and also promote user engagement.

In AR or any spatial technology the scale of the model needs to be constantly iterated on device to build an immersive and engaging experience. Simulating the AR experience on the computer is great for refining timing and effects. But to get a really good understanding you need to work on the device. If using Unity it possible to have a phone or other XR device connected to the computer so that you can tweak the look of the experience in real-time.

The interactivity has to be defined for the audience you’re targeting, and while asking for their preferences and suggestions is necessary, it’s even more important to observe how they interact with the content to improve the usability and interactivity. For example, when creating AR content for kids, size, position and interactivity can have subtle differences according to the age group.

Initial testing often reveals issues that aren't apparent during the development phase, such as a 3D model appearing too small in an outdoor setting. User feedback is invaluable for pinpointing these issues and suggesting areas for improvement. Through iterative adjustments to variables like scale, lighting, and user interaction, the AR experience can be continually refined to achieve greater realism and user satisfaction.

At Singularity University, our focus on leveraging cutting-edge technologies like AR aligns perfectly with educational innovation. For example, we could create an AR experience where students interact with 3D models of pioneers in fields like artificial intelligence, biotechnology, or space exploration, offering them a more immersive and hands-on understanding of the subjects being taught. This fusion of AR and education not only enriches the learning experience but also sets a new standard for interactive and engaging educational content.

My team at $NP Designs provided 3D AR graphics for a Dropbox installation earlier this year and we found the audience had so much fun interacting with the 3D models. Whether that was placing them on the floor, moving them around the room, or just standing inside one of the spaces. Having this run component at an event really drove up engagement in our activation room.

Certainly, the essence lies in the exchange of ideas and thoughts through forums, blogs, comments, and various public platforms. In today's landscape, this exchange is paramount, as achieving the extraordinary necessitates the sharing of insights to expand our understanding. So, let's continue to share, just like I do :)

Choosing appropriate 3D file format based on target platform is important specifically when we play with animation , realistic experience along with optimised performance & size of 3D model. Every platform does recommend 3D model file format so picking that one is good in most cases. Like for Apple (iOS, MacOS ,iPad OS) choosing usdz file format is recommended.