AR & VR Technologies Training in Hyderabad

User interface (UI)/User experience (UX)

The AR/VR industry is new and therefore there are not many best practices yet for developing this kind of experiences, but we should take for granted that they are different from traditional 2D apps. For example, how do you handle input? A keyboard in a virtual world may not be the best choice in some situations.

On the other hand, one of the biggest problems about VR is simulator/motion sickness. People can get sick either by lagging, unnatural movements, and mismatches between physical and visual motion cues, among others.

Here are some resources on the topic:

• Designing for Google Cardboard
• You’re the center of the universe: A UX guide to designing virtual reality experiences
• The UX of VR
• UI / UX design patterns in virtual reality
• Get started with VR: user experience design
• VR Design Best Practices

Become an AR/VR developer?

Define your platform: Decide which devices to target, which platforms (mobile, desktop, web), and which game engine/SDK/framework to use.

Learn the skills:  Learn about the terminology, 3D modeling, the language of that engine/SDK/framework, UI/UX for AR/VR.

Implement something small: Although a great number of AR/VR apps are games, there are a lot of areas that can be targeted, like education, data visualization, 360° experiences. The key here is to practice and gain experience.

Join and engage in VR communities: Go to meetups, participate in forums/chats, talk to other developers, ask to the community.

We have been focusing on Virtual Reality, but Augmented Reality is a different concept.

Virtual Reality is about creating a virtual and immersive environment to replace the real world. Augmented Reality adds layers of data to the real world instead of replacing it. For example, it can translate the words you see in another language, or it can make you see monsters when you walk near some place. In contrast, Virtual Reality can take you to another country or a land full of monsters.

When you join both concepts, you get what is called mixed reality, where you interact with both the physical and virtual environment.

However, from a development standpoint, VR and AR are pretty similar. In fact, you can use Unity and Unreal (with the help of some plugins) to develop AR content. For example, a simple AR app will recognize an object and present a 3D model that you could manipulate as if it were real, so the skills needed for VR are applicable to AR also.

One of the most popular tools for developing AR is Vuforia, which is available for Unity, Android, and iOS, provides a lot of features, and support for many devices, including Tango phones.

Talking about devices, Augmented Reality can be used with head-mounted displays, but also with other devices like smartphones, glasses, and specially-made visors, perhaps being the most popular Microsoft HoloLens (although more inclined towards mixed reality).

Make Assets

The first things you’ll need for AR/VR development are art assets, especially 3D models. You have two options here: make them yourself or use models made by someone else.

Making 3D models by yourself is the most difficult option, but in the long run it may be the best (and most cost-effective). If you choose this path, you’ll have to learn to use programs like:

• Blender
• Autodesk Maya
• Autodesk 3ds Max

A technology that can help you create your own models is 3D scanning. Basically, things captured by a 3D scanner in the real world become a virtual 3D model. They may not be perfect yet, but they can help you get started, and there a lot of options with a wide range of price points. Some of these are:

• DAVID SLS2
• Da Vinci 1.0 AiO
• Structure Sense (plus an iPad)

Otherwise, you’ll want to get 3D models from places like:

• TurboSquid
• Free3D
• CGTrader
• Sketchfab

This option is fine when you’re starting and you don’t have the skills, but sooner or later, you’ll need to make modifications to get exactly what you want, so the suggestion is to combine the two options while you learn to make your own models.

Something similar happens with 360° videos and photos, used in Virtual Reality to provide an immersive experience.

In the area of audio, we have it easier because there are no special requirements; we can use the same sound effects used in traditional games and videos from royalty-free audio sites like FreeSound, and audio recording and editing software like Audacity or Adobe Audition.