Augmented reality games and experiences will soon be available to mid- and low-tier Android smartphones, thanks to an innovative augmented reality platform created by uSens. The company is one of the pioneers in the field of human-computer interactions and computer vision AR/VR solutions. Its most recent strategic decisions are a partnership with Spreadtrum Communications, a system-on-chip (SoC) developer, at the end of 2017 and appointing Charles Huang, the co-founder of Guitar Hero, as Board Advisor.
uSensAR, the Augmented Reality Platform for All Types of Android Phones
The upcoming SDK developed by uSens will allow smartphones with low screen resolution and CPU to render holographic AR objects and allow interactions with a high fidelity. The principles behind this augmented reality platform are using SLAM technology and performing a series of computations and algorithms to create a virtual map of the real-life environment, using a single smartphone camera.
uSensAR does not need a marker; instead, it scans the environment continuously and learns its layout and the objects existing there through computer vision. It is estimated that games created with this new augmented reality platform will be compatible with up to 2 billion Android smartphones, some of them of an older generation.
This video shows how uSensAR works on an average phone:
Key Features of uSensAR
The single camera smartphone augmented reality platform developed by usSens has the following specifications:
- Low CPU and battery use
- Markerless tracking
- SLAM technology for understanding the environment
- Mobile, inside-out motion tracking
- Technology enabling advanced plane detection
- Very precise positioning, at millimeter-level
- Visual Inertial Odometry, which uses the phone camera and inertial measurement units
- Supports Unity, Java, and C++
Strategic Partnerships Indicate an Ambitious Future for uSensAR
Before launching the beta version of its augmented reality platform, uSens made two tactical decisions. The first one was to bring over Charles Huang, the co-founder of Guitar Hero, as Board Advisor. Mr. Huang created the Guitar Hero game series together with his brother Kai Huang. It was the best selling game of 2007 and, over time, was the second video game to exceed $1 billion in sales, reaching a total amount of $5 billion at present.
Explaining his decision to join uSens, Charles Huang stated that “AR is such an exciting technology because it furthers immersion, blending real and virtual worlds so users can experience the game, as opposed to having it presented to them. While other AR engines have focused on top-tier phones and hardware, uSensAR will bring in hundreds of millions of new customers to the AR market.”
The second strategic decision made by uSens was forging a partnership with the SoC company Spreadtrum Communications at the end of 2017. This partnership enabled uSens to offer developers the chance to create AR apps on the Spreadtrum SC9853 chipset platform.
All developers interested in signing up for uSensAR beta program can do so here.
