Our team started out testing both ARCore and Vuforia on mobile devices to see which AR SDK best meets our needs.
In our initial test, we combined ARCore/Vuforia with the AR GPS location unity package (https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/tools/integration/ar-gps-location-134882) to place virtual assets in real world geographic locations.
We also created high-poly and low-poly objects with some simple animation to test whether poly counts affect performance in AR.
For our results, no performance was lost during the test, but the geolocation precision wasn’t stable and accurate some of the times. Virtual assets tend to drift during the test, this might be due to the precision of GPS from the mobile devices.
On the drone side, our initial plan was to use the DJI Avata with its unique stick controller and FPV goggles for the experience. Due to the lack of public SDK, we chose a different model — DJI Tello.
Tello already has an open-source Unity template so it is potentially easier for developers to use. Also, the Tello is very small in size, which allows us to transition the experience from outdoors to indoors.
We have also chosen the bullpen, a big room located inside the Entertainment Technology Center, for our experience. Due to the experience being indoors, we will need some type of physical markers to bind the geolocation of the drone and assets during the location.
Thus, We have chosen Vuforia for our AR SDK.
Vuforia is an augmented reality software development kit for mobile devices that enables the creation of augmented reality applications. It uses computer vision technology to recognize and track planar images and 3D objects in real time. Which will be a good fit for the experience.