Hololink is a web-based Augmented Reality editor which enables creation of AR through a visual no-code solution. AR created in Hololink is served directly in the mobile browser without the use of an app, making the whole process from creation to end-user 100% browser-based. Hololink gives creators access to: A visual storyboard to ensure a clear overview of all end-user interactions and the entire user journey, making it possible to use rich storytelling. The…
N/A
Unity
Score 9.4 out of 10
N/A
Unity Technologies headquartered in San Francisco offers the Unity real-time 3D and 2D development platform.
On the commercial side, Hololink is perfect for implementing extra information in existing materials. Why make an entire catalog, when you can just have one page with a Hololink on it. It doesn't require an app. Everyone who has a smartphone will be able to see the AR overlay. I have recommended Hololink to many of my colleagues at other institutions, who have made brilliant commercial AR experiences in other systems, but struggle with getting potential new students to download an app, in order to see it. I cannot emphasize enough how great it is to be able to skip the download-an-app part. Hololink also has a great potential for geocaching-like experiences and games. One way this could be achieved would be to make it possible for users to make a username, and then give them points when they use a Hololink in a certain way, or reward them for finding Hololinks in the wild. It would be interesting if the Hololink tracker could look for more images simultaneously, appealing to the more exploratory aspects of people. These are functionalities that I hope might come in the future.
Unity can cover most of the needs of game development, both for 2D and 3D. It is particularly well suited to games designed to be played presented and played on web pages, but it can create high-end content as well. Perhaps it would be less suited in high-end games which depend to much of sophisticated lighting effects since Cryengine and Unreal are more evolved in this area. On the other extreme, in the case of very simple 2D games for web pages, like newsgames, simpler game engines probably would be more advisable for a faster production, like Construct (2 or 3) or even Twine (in case of text adventures)
As opposed to all other AR creation tools that I know, Hololink does not require consumers to download an app, thereby bypassing the primary problem of creating AR experiences, which is getting people to download an app. Let it be known that native apps are going away, the future is web-based because it is easier.
The Hololink image-tracking, which enables AR elements to be projected upon real-world objects and images is exceptionally good compared to other AR projects that also use image-tracking. In Hololink your buttons, 3D models, and videos do not sail away from the objects that they're supposed to be attached to.
The people working on Hololink are very focused on UX, and the few times that I have had suggestions, they have been very attentive.
Hololink comes pre-packed with a lot of 3D models there are cases where I would like to write text on models directly, instead of using the annotation function which Hololink provides. It would be easier than having to upload my own 3D models, which is also possible.
It's actually incredibly easy to use given the complex tasks you have. Once you learn the various windows it becomes second nature. Compared to something like Blender (which I would probably rate as a 2 on usability), the learning curve of Unity is a breeze! The only improvements I can think of would be to streamline some common workflows so you don't have to dig through menus to find them.
I have not had to use Unity's support extensively. This is likely because there is so much documentation and so many classes available for free online. Due to this, there is little need for support. They were very responsive when I requested educational licensing. Setting it up and providing it all quickly.
A long time ago I use Aurasma. As I recall it was quite heavy because you had to transfer the Aura from your computer to the student's smartphones through signup on the internet and making them connect to your user with an invitational code, and if it didn´t work it was hard to figure out why. Hololink is just a scan away and you don´t have to connect to any user accounts to see other student products.
Unreal Engine is a fantastic piece of software but it has a much steeper learning curve and an arcane, idiosyncratic way of developing software that is quite foreign. Unity uses some similar concepts to Adobe Flex, which we've always found easy and sensible. It is also easier to go to Unity having either a Java or C# background. We also explored using Android Studio and Xcode on their own for AR experiences and that is a suitable option depending on the use case, but Unity is still a great tool for rapid prototyping and even for building finished, shipped apps.
AR is hot right now and thus helps attract people. In the future, the AR-excitement might lessen, but it has clear affordances in terms of communication that will continue to be relevant as long as people have smartphones or google-glasses or the likes.
