AR Anchor saved in file

Unity Engine
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1

Hi,

Do you know a way to save ARFoundation Anchors (ARAnchor) into files (and to reload them obviously) in order to set the file in the project build it and deploy the app on mutiple devices next (iOS/Android/Hololens 2) ? This should give the opportunity to have the same scenario on multiple devices without setting the anchors on each.
Regards,

MLR

2

There are three options I know of:

  1. Azure Spatial Anchors. This option should work across iOS, Android, and HoloLens, although I haven’t tested it myself.
  2. ARCore Cloud Anchors. They are available on iOS/Android and work great in my experience.
  3. ARKit World Map. This feature is supported by AR Foundation out of the box but it’s iOS only. And I believe it’s only suitable for indoor usage.

And a bonus option is ARKit Geo Anchors, but they only work in public spaces and only in few regions of the US.

3

Thanks for your quick reply.
I was hoping there was a generic way to serialize the ARAnchor data and reuse them on any device :frowning: . Azure Spatial Anchors must be stored in the Microsoft cloud, mustn’t they ? I was looking for a solution to do it offline (but maybe this is not possible).

4

Unfortunately, the only solution that works offline is ARKit World Map. Azure and ARCore require internet access and store anchors in the cloud and if the cloud usage is high, you have to pay for it.

5

:cry: (thanks anyway :wink: )

6

Also, Vuforia has Area Targets. It’s an enterprise-oriented solution that requires previously scanning a place and preparing the scan for Vuforia SDK. I believe it should work offline then.

7

I was looking at this when you sent your post :slight_smile: , I will ask Vuforia if it is available offline (and what is the licence fee). I will send feedbacks on offline availability for vuforia area targets in this thread asap.

8

Check out the Area Target Capture API that allows you to build your own app, capturing a portion of the environment using an iOS LiDAR enabled device! The captured target behaves just like any other Vuforia target. You can store it, share it, and consume on most platforms supported by Vuforia: https://library.vuforia.com/develop-area-targets/capture-api.

9

I promised feedbacks so here they are : Vuforia area target is available offline and it is possible to share the area target with other devices (deploying the same app with the area target captured on another device I mean).

10

How to save anchor to the cloud in AR Foundation for Android? ARAnchorManager.HostCloudAnchorAsync() is not working with AR Foundation.

11

AR Foundation currently only supports persistent anchors saved locally to device on Meta Quest. ARAnchorManager.HostCloudAnchorAsync is a third-party method in Google’s ARCore Extensions for AR Foundation package, available here: Getting started with ARCore Extensions for AR Foundation  |  Google for Developers

Google’s extensions package is a great way to use ARCore Cloud Anchors in Unity if that’s what you’re trying to do.