CAIRNS, AUSTRALIA – FEBRUARY 05: Seen are game balls falling through the hoop before the start of the round 18 NBL match between the Cairns Taipans and the Perth Wildcats at the Cairns Convention Centre on February 5, 2017 in Cairns, Australia. (Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)
Augmented reality has infiltrated seemingly every area of sport. Executives recognize its importance while marketing teams deploy it in different ways each day. With AR’s growing popularity, iOS recently introduced ARKit; a platform to aid in the development of AR apps.
One such app recently released by Triangle Factory is AR Sports Basketball. The game allows you to set up a hoop virtually (at your desk, a park, the grocery store, etc.) and start taking shots. There is a single player mode or you can challenge your friends to a game of H.O.R.S.E. thanks to a new update.
Open the app, walk around and select where you want to place the hoop. You can rotate the basket or make it smaller/larger depending on the area where you choose to play. Make it mini for your work desk or larger in an outdoor setting.
Hit multiple baskets in a row and you might find yourself shooting a flaming basketball.
There a few specific things about ARKit’s technology that make the app possible.
Visual Inertial Odometry (VIO) is used to accurately detect how how the device moves within a room. A combination of camera sensor data and Core Motion data make extra calibration unnecessary in setting up the game.
ARKit also helps detect horizontal planes where the game can be played. Not only this, it will estimate the amount of light available in a scene. If there isn’t enough, ARKit will apply the correct amount of light to virtual objects.
