WebAR - here and how - part 1




WebAR is here

 In my first post on this blog in Oct 2019, I proposed that when an open source platform arrived that could support GEO Location for AR, it would be a game changer in many ways.

"The young generations of digital natives who are used to this technology will be the guerilla artists of tomorrow. AR/MR platforms will continue to spring up becoming open source and content rich. Tech savvy kids and artists will add their own content and put it ANYWHERE. As geo-location becomes more accurate and remote, they'll be able to do this without even leaving home, having just the coordinates of the display destination at their disposal."

Well...it's here AR.js Studio



 This stunningly generous piece of open source software comes from a team across the world but headed up in Italy by Nicolò Carpignoli from Chialab.








What does this mean for us as artists? 

It means we're free to play with the real world! It means that we don't have to hope we can fund specific apps and that those apps might be downloaded by users. There is no app! This Augmented Reality works via the phones browser. It's a thing of beauty. As the phones continue to be more powerful and the web browsers continue to advance then the complexity of the AR will grow. But for now we as artists have an exciting new way of presenting content.

I've already geo-located a piece of work into the Turbine Hall of Tate Modern. Anyone who has the link can open it when they're actually in the Turbine Hall and see my work. It's everything I posted about already. 

 

And here is the link if you fancy seeing some geo-located, unsanctioned, 3D art next time Tate Modern is open and you happen to be there.

Directions:

1. Go to location 

2. Disable any wifi so you're just using your phones ability to locate

3. Click link

4. Allow Location when/if prompted

 

5. Allow Camera when/if prompted

6. Move around until you see the work

7. Be forgiving of the Geo, it can be a bit skittish

 

It's here for political content too...

The UK is suffering from unprecedented neglect and subsequent excess deaths from Coronavirus I couldn't ignore this. I geo-located some floating text into my garden (to test it and to generate an image for the tweet) and outside Downing Street. Of course nobody in government will see it or care...but perhaps someone who follows my link will. 

 

And here is that link

We can locate 3D or use images as bases to anchor the work, we can superimpose our works on top of other pieces offering new interpretations, adaptions, dialogues, interventions. This is why I'm so excited by the tool/platform that has been gifted to us.

 Augmented Reality is in my opinion a really exciting medium for reinterpretation. It's liminality, otherliness and presence alone (regardless of content) are going to produce interesting dialogues.



Comments

  1. Scott Turner20 June 2020 at 06:44

    I think geo-location via web ar and vr of art is just the start of a new revolution. A recurring thought I keep having is about the open spaces both inside and outside of being use to provide education material have a specific URL and class can differ, so you could have several classes going on in the same open space.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. GameArtAcademic20 June 2020 at 12:00

      With different content placed according to need, you could sign post public spaces in a more focused way as well.

      Delete

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