Level: Basic

Setting up a quick AR Demo using the 3D Model Tracker in Unity3D

In this quick guide we demonstrate how to get started with the VisionLib SDK for Unity3D. We provide a broad overview on the Unity SDK, the workflow with VisionLib, and the structure of tracking configuration file.

Video Tutorial

There is also a step-by-step video for this tutorial on our YouTube channel:

Quick Start in Unity3D (YouTube Video Tutorial)

Prerequisites

Before you start, be sure to have the following installed or at hand:

Unity 2017.4 LTS or higher (we recommend using 2018.4 LTS)
a webcam attached for testing the application on your desktop PC
a copy of the latest VisionLib SDK, downloaded from the customer area
a copy of your license file, downloaded from the customer area
our paper crafted mini car 3D model resource, which you can download here. Print the PDF and follow the instructions to create the paper-crafted test target.

Unity Example Project

If you want to use an external webcam, be sure to connect it before you start Unity
Start Unity and create a new project
Now, choose Assets/Import Package/Custom Package.. and import the vlUnitySDK_XX.Y.Z.unitypackage file into your empty project
Browse to VisionLib/Examples/ModelTracking/Simple in the project navigator and open SimpleModelTracking.unity

License File

Copy your license file into the StreamingAssets folder of your Unity project

If it is named license.xml, you are already done. Otherwise, select the VLCamera under VLTracking in the hierarchy and specify the license file name and path at the License File property of the VLWorkerBehaviour in the inspector window.

Run the Application

Start the application in the editor by pressing the play button
Start the tracking engine by pressing the Start button.

The example scene lets you select your camera at start.

Select the desired camera and proceed

You should see the live camera view and a 3D model of the mini car in Unity's game window now.

Next, move the camera over your physical 3D model in order to match it with the rendered one.
Once recognized, the 3D model should snap to the physical one in the live video - and be tracked.

If everything worked well, your game view should look like in the picture above.

For demonstration purposes, we merely superimpose the same 3D model that is used for tracking the real mini car in the live image stream. But of course, you can replace this simple augmentation by anything more complex. For this you can exploit the full range of features that Unity3D offers to you. In contrast to other tracking techniques, model tracking will always use the physical 3D model as a reference. As an advantage, all augmentations will appear right in place as soon as the real object is recognized and tracked in the images, because the coordinate systems of the tracking system and the created virtual content are aligned automatically.

Controlling and customizing the tracking can be done via JSON-formatted configuration files. Within these files you can change tracking targets, fine-tune the tracking parameters, or specify camera or image stream inputs. There exists a pre-configured file for this quick-start demo, which you can use as a starting-point and adapt it to your needs.

Changing the Model

For changing the 3D model you can do the following.

Stop the current demo by leaving the edit mode.
Switch to your project files and open the folder in a file manager, like Finder on Mac or Explorer on Windows.

In order to track another model, you need:

A digital 3D model of the physical object you want to track in some readable format (e.g. OBJ; all supported formats are listed here: Configuration File Parameters).
The real physical object that corresponds to the 3D model for live tracking.

In our case, we replace the mini car with a sports car model. To do so:

Copy the new digital 3D model into the Models folder of your project; we will use this for superimposition.
Then, copy the same 3D model additionally into the StreamingAssets/VisionLib/Examples/ModelTracking folder; this is used for tracking.

Inside this folder, find the car.vl file, create a backup and edit the original. This is the tracking configuration file, which is in JSON format. Please open the file in a text editor and review it there.

{
  "type": "VisionLibTrackerConfig",
  "version": 1,
  "meta": {
    "name": "Simple VisionLib Car Tracker",
    "description": "Simple model tracking configuration file",
    "author": "VisionLib"
  },
  "tracker": {
    "type": "modelTracker",
    "version": 1,
    "parameters": {
      "modelURI": "project_dir:car.obj",
      "useColor": true,
      "metric": "m",
      "initPose": {
       "type": "visionlib",
       "t": [0.016842365264892579, 0.014721237123012543, 0.29071056842803957],
       "q": [-0.2766152024269104, -0.3881957232952118, 0.8737488985061646, 0.09670034050941467]
      },
      "keyFrameDistance": 20,
      "laplaceThreshold": 1,
      "normalThreshold": 0.3,
      "minInlierRatioInit": 0.7,
      "minInlierRatioTracking": 0.6,
      "extendibleTracking": false,
      "lineSearchLengthInitRelative": 0.05,
      "lineSearchLengthTrackingRelative": 0.03125
    }
  }
}

In the tracker section, look for modelURI and change car.obj (which is the mini car's 3D model) to sports_car.obj (which is the reference to the new tracking model we've copied into the folder).

Please note the metric parameter. Here, you should define in which scale your 3D model was created. In our case both, the mini car model and the new sports car, are modeled in m. Change this to mm or cm, if your metrics differ.

Switch back to Unity.
In the hierarchy under SceneContent, disable the Car model.

We don't want to use the old model for visualization, but the new one instead. To do so, we need to add it to the scene.

In the project panel, open the Model folder.
Drag your new model into the scene, in our case it's the sports_car.obj asset.

Now, select the VLInitCamera prefab under VLTracking in the hierarchy.

This camera defines the model's initial pose that you could see, once the Start button was pressed. Right now, the camera is set nicely for the old mini car model. We need to change this pose, in order to fit the new model. With the camera selected, move it until you get a nice sight on the new model (have a look at the camera preview window in the image above). This position defines where your tracking — and respectively your users later on — should start working with the augmented reality.

Run the Application again

In Unity, press play to start the scene again.
Next, press the Start button. The new model should now be rendered as you've defined its init pose via the VLInitCamera.
Again, match the real and virtual objects by moving the camera. If everything is fine, tracking should work immediately and both, virtual and physical model, should match precisely:

Debug Information

In order to understand what VisionLib's computer vision engine is doing, press the Debug on button. You will now see two more windows on the screen. One is revealing a gray-scale image with 'jaggy' lines, representing the ongoing 3D model's edge detection. The second window prints some statistics regarding tracking parameters that are defined in the configuration file.

Conclusion

Hey, hey! You just tested VisionLib's 3D model tracking and exchanged the demo model.

If this does not work with your model, we recommend reading through the following sections in order to set the parameters right for your tracking case.

Next Steps

Perhaps you might have noticed some text, stating that your camera has not been calibrated. This is a crucial task, which improves the tracking experience a lot. So for the next step we do recommend calibrating your camera. Therefore, follow this tutorial: Camera Calibration.

If you want to dive a bit deeper in how to configure the model tracker, we recommend reading the detailed Model Tracker Tutorial, which shows you how to set up a scene from scratch. It also explains VisionLib's prefabs, debug options, and how to work with coordinate systems for VisionLib and Unity in detail.

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