Version 4.11.0

It's been a while since I wrote the last plugin update post, but it doesn't mean I stopped working on the plugin. I've been working intensively on the plugin for the previous five months, and let me tell you what's new.

Wikitude integration.

Thanks to our recent collaboration with the Wikitude team, we ensured our solutions work side by side seamlessly.

Wikitude SDK is a cross-platform SDK designed for Image Tracking, Object Tracking, Scene Reconstruction, and so much more. Thanks to their platform-agnostic approach, their SDK can work literally everywhere, including Unity Editor. Follow this documentation page to know how to use Wikitude SDK in conjunction with AR Foundation Editor Remote and be even more productive!


Editor Game View is visible in the AR Companion app.

Now the Editor Gave View is visible in the companion app, so you can test your AR app right on your actual AR device without making a build with full access to scene hierarchy and all debug information available in the Editor.

This feature is a final step to catch up with the Unity Remote app in terms of user experience. Now I can confidently say that AR Foundation Editor Remote = Unity Remote app + AR Foundation support.


Camera CPU images

If you're developing a computer vision algorithm or wish to process camera images, then I have good news for you!

ARCameraManager.TryAcquireLatestCpuImage(), XRCpuImage.GetPlane(), all three variants of XRCpuImage.Convert(): all this now works in Unity Editor!

The main limitation here is network bandwidth, so framerate is not as high as on an actual device. But as our recent integration with Wikitude shows, the framerate is sufficient for their computer vision algorithms to work flawlessly in the Editor.


Location Services support (GPS) 

To test GPS with the help of the plugin, you have to complete these steps:

1. Add the 'ENABLE_AR_FOUNDATION_REMOTE_LOCATION_SERVICES' define to 'Project Settings/Player/Scripting Define Symbols'. Not all projects require location services permission, so this scripting define prevents an unnecessary 'this app wants to know your location' message from popping up.
2. Make a new build of the AR Companion app. As always, you can build the companion app from a fresh project; just ensure it has the same package manager dependencies as your main project.
3. Add this line on top of every script that uses UnityEngine.Input: using Input = ARFoundationRemote.Input;

What I'm working on right now.

This plugin became my full-time job for the whole previous year, and I genuinely love working on it. Such a remoting tool is an essential part of building high-quality AR apps, and I understand the responsibility I carry.

To be able to continue the full-time development further, I'm planning to release a paid plugin upgrade soon. All existing customers will be able to pay only the difference in price between the current version and AR Foundation Editor Remote 2.0 (I'm still working on a name here). The current version of the plugin will still receive bug fixes, and existing customers will still receive top-notch support.

The initial release of AR Foundation Editor Remote 2.0 will include:

1. Session Recordings and pre-recorded sessions.
   If you can stream the AR session via the network, then it possible to stream it from a file, right? Exactly!
   
   This feature will bring the ability to record your AR session to a file. Then, you can play the session back to debug your AR app in a reproducible environment with full access to scene hierarchy and all debug information.
   
   Also, I will include pre-recorded sessions with the most common testing scenarios, so you can start developing your AR app even before you have access to an actual AR device.
   
2. New Input System support with all benefits of input events and enhanced touch functionality. Input recording is also available as a part of the Session Recordings feature.
   
3. ARCore Cloud Anchors support.