Sometimes I just like toying around with ARKit. Today I came across a really fun augmented reality app called AR Toy Camera (ARトイカメラ) by Taichi Shimizu. This is a very amusing camera ap. It allows you to create some really cool scenes by putting different objects and effects in augmented reality.
It’s a camera app because it’s built like a camera app with a shutter button for pictures and video recording. You can capture people like usual, but instead of capturing a regular image, you can enhance the image by incorporating different types of effects and objects.
Now, you probably want to know what is the difference between a regular camera app that does all this stuff versus an augmented reality one?
When you incorporate effects and objects in camera effects apps, they are overlayed on the image itself. In AR camera app like this one, the camera can recognize surfaces and therefore play objects in the three-dimensional space. So for example, when I put a penguin on the floor, it’s size is relative to the camera. When I put a fire on the floor, the fire really looks like its part of the floor itself.
OK, now this can be mimicked in just an overlayed image, true. However, the objects in this camera app are dynamic and they adjust themselves to the place where you are at in real-time, no 2D app can really do that (if so please enlighten me). Let me give you an example. I use the glowing butterfly effect. I put my hand in front of the iPad (it almost fell by the way) and I saw the butterfly landing on my arm and on the palm of my hand. Because the effects and objects are dynamic, the image itself is dynamic and changing every second. I not even mentioned recording this in videos.
The app allows you do choose several objects and effects and add them to the scene at the same time. The main problem with that is that it starts to lag pretty badly. Just don’t overuse this and you’ll be fine.