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Introduction

In today’s fast-paced world, museum visitors are often faced with the challenge of navigating large, complex spaces. To improve this experience and provide a seamless journey through the Chennai Egmore Museum, we’ve developed a cutting-edge AR (Augmented Reality) navigation app. This blog post takes you through the details of our app, how it enhances the museum experience, the technology behind it, and the steps we took to bring it to life.

Why AR Navigation in Museums?

Museums are cultural treasure troves, but they can sometimes be difficult to navigate, especially for first-time visitors or those unfamiliar with the layout. Traditional static maps and signage are limited and may not provide enough guidance. AR navigation solves this by offering an interactive and immersive way to explore the exhibits.

• Instant Access to Information: AR navigation allows users to easily access real-time information about artwork, exhibit placement, and museum features.
• Enhanced Experience: Interactive features such as virtual markers and detailed overlays provide visitors with a more engaging and informative experience.

The Vision for Chennai Egmore Museum’s Art Gallery

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The Chennai Egmore Museum is home to some of the most significant art collections in India. However, the building's complex layout, with diverse galleries, posed a challenge for effective navigation. Our goal was to create an app that could guide visitors efficiently, allowing them to:

• Find their way to specific exhibits quickly
• Learn more about the artwork and artists through interactive AR elements
• Enhance their overall visit without the need for a physical guide

How the AR Navigation App Works

Our app leverages Augmented Reality to create a user-friendly, interactive map of the museum. Here’s how it works:

1. Getting Started: When users open the app, they are prompted to scan a QR code located at any of the museum’s buildings. Scanning the QR code retrieves data specific to that building, including information about its exhibits, layout, and features.
2. Exploring Exhibits: Once the QR code is scanned, the app displays a list of exhibits within the building. Each exhibit is accompanied by a short description, helping users choose what to explore first.

3. Navigation to Exhibits: After selecting an exhibit, the app guides users to their chosen destination using a clear navigation line overlaid in the real-world environment through their device screen.
4. Interactive 3D Floating Windows: Upon reaching the desired exhibit, users are presented with a 3D spatial floating window that provides additional details about the exhibit.
5. Continuous Exploration: Once users finish exploring the current exhibit, they can either delve deeper into its features or select a new exhibit to navigate to, repeating the process seamlessly.
6. Personalized Routes: The app can be customized to offer different routes based on the user's interests, whether they’re more interested in historical art, contemporary pieces, or sculptures.

The Technology Behind the AR Navigation App

Building an AR navigation app involves several layers of technology and integration. Below are the key components and technical steps involved in the development of this app:

1. AR Framework: ARKit & ARCore

For an immersive AR experience, we used ARKit (for iOS) and ARCore (for Android) as the primary AR frameworks. These frameworks allow for real-time object detection, environmental understanding, and spatial positioning, which are crucial for providing accurate and interactive navigation.

• ARKit: Leveraged for iOS devices to create 3D maps of the museum and accurately detect user positions as they move through space.
• ARCore: Used for Android devices to achieve similar functionalities, ensuring cross-platform compatibility.

2. Custom AR Measurement Tool for Museum Layout

Instead of relying on pre-existing 3D models or Floor plans, we developed a custom AR measurement tool specifically designed for this project. This tool enabled us to directly capture the real-world dimensions of the museum space and accurately map the layout without traditional architectural resources.

• Markers & Distance Calculation: We implemented a marker-based approach within the AR framework. By strategically placing AR markers around the museum, we measured the distance between them, as well as the dimensions of walls, floors, and rooms. This allowed us to directly measure key spatial data to help with our mapping efforts.
• Custom Tool Features: The tool was designed to be both flexible and precise, with functionality that allowed users to place multiple markers and automatically calculate distances between them. It also supported the measurement of angles and room layouts, which was vital for creating accurate maps of the museum’s complex structure.
• How It Works: Using the camera’s live feed, the tool overlays digital markers in the real-world environment, providing instant measurements between markers. We were able to walk through the museum, placing markers in strategic spots, while the tool recorded the measurements and distances in real time.

3. Building the 3D Model: Unity & ProBuilder

After capturing the measurements and layout data, we translated this information into a 3D model of the museum using Unity and the ProBuilder tool.

ProBuilder tool by Unity

• ProBuilder: ProBuilder allowed us to build a detailed, interactive 3D model of the museum directly inside Unity, using the measurements we collected. This approach was fast and efficient, letting us visualize and tweak the museum’s spatial structure as we worked.
• Creating the Layout: The 3D model included floors, walls, rooms, and exhibit spaces, which formed the navigational basis for the app. The flexibility of ProBuilder allowed us to refine the structure with custom dimensions, ensuring the model matched the real-world measurements as closely as possible.

4. Spatial AR Floating Window for Exhibit Details

One of the most engaging features of the app is the spatial AR floating window, which appears when the user reaches a target exhibit. This dynamic window provides rich, interactive content related to the artwork, giving users more information about the exhibit in a way that integrates seamlessly into their surroundings.

• How It Works: When the user approaches a specific artwork or exhibit, the app automatically detects the target and triggers the floating window. This window appears as a floating 3D overlay, anchored in space near the artwork. Users can move around the exhibit, and the window will stay fixed in place, offering details in context.

• Content Displayed: The floating window features various types of content, including:
  
  • Textual Information: Descriptions, artist biographies, historical context, and more.
  • Multimedia: Images, videos, or audio clips that offer deeper insight into the artwork, such as video interviews with artists or curators.
• Interactive Features: The floating window is interactive, allowing users to swipe through images, play videos, or tap for more detailed information. It enhances the museum experience by offering contextual knowledge in an intuitive and engaging way.
• User Experience: The floating window adapts to the user’s position and perspective, ensuring that it is always visible without obstructing the artwork. It creates an immersive experience where visitors not only see the art but also interact with it digitally in a way that enhances their understanding.

5. Pathfinding Algorithm

One of the biggest challenges in the development process was designing an efficient and responsive pathfinding algorithm. We needed to ensure that users could be guided smoothly through the museum, without getting lost or having their paths interrupted.

• Algorithm: We implemented an A* (A-star) pathfinding algorithm, which is efficient in navigating through a network of nodes (rooms and galleries). This allowed the app to find the shortest, most intuitive path between the visitor and their desired exhibit.

• User Experience: We also added the ability to reroute visitors in case of unexpected obstacles (e.g., a crowded space or closed exhibit), ensuring that the navigation is always optimal.

6. Real-Time Data Integration: Backend API

The app is integrated with a backend system that provides real-time data about exhibits, galleries, and museum events. This allows the app to update in real time based on changes in the museum layout or schedules.

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Backend Technologies: We used Node.js with Express.js for building a robust backend API, handling data such as exhibit descriptions, schedules, and other dynamic content.

Database: MongoDB served as the database to store exhibit information, user preferences, and historical data on art pieces.

Syncing with Museum Database: To ensure data accuracy, the app regularly syncs with the museum's existing CMS (Content Management System), allowing the team to update exhibit information without needing to release an app update.

7. User Interface Design:

The design of the app needed to be intuitive, clean, and easy to navigate, especially in a museum setting where users may have limited time to learn how to use the app.

• Tools Used: Figma for wireframes and user interface design.
• Design Focus: Minimalist design that doesn’t distract from the artwork while still providing essential information. Large, readable fonts and clear icons were used for better usability in a crowded, dynamic museum environment.

8. Testing and Optimization:

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Testing AR-based apps can be tricky, especially in environments with varied lighting and spatial challenges. To ensure that the app provided accurate AR navigation, we conducted extensive testing in the museum itself.

• Beta Testing: A group of users tested the app on different devices, and we worked to optimize performance on both high-end and lower-end smartphones.
• Lighting and Calibration: We optimized the AR feature to work under various lighting conditions, ensuring stable tracking and accurate pathfinding.

The Future of AR in Museums

This AR navigation app is just the beginning of how technology can transform the museum-going experience. In the future, we envision adding features such as:

• AR-guided tours led by virtual avatars of artists or curators.
• Interactive games and quizzes to engage children and families.
• Integration with social media to share visitor experiences.

Conclusion

Our AR navigation app reimagines the way visitors experience the Chennai Egmore Museum. With the power of augmented reality, we’ve created a more interactive, informative, and user-friendly way to explore this cultural gem. Whether you’re a first-time visitor or a seasoned art lover, the app is designed to enhance your journey and deepen your understanding of the artwork on display.

Want to harness the future withAR for your enterprise? Let's build your idea in AR!!

‍The Future of AI in Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) Applications

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When Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) themselves are novel concepts for many, the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is simply going to revolutionize the way humans communicate with digital environments. With heightened sensory immersion, AI-powered AR and VR applications can simply transform industries and change the way we have been working with it - anywhere from healthcare to education to gaming or manufacturing. 

This blog is intended to discuss —the phenomenon that may arise with the inclusion of AI into AR/VR and emerging possibilities.

The Convergence

The Convergence of AI with AR and VR enables systems to analyze and respond to real-world inputs sensitively, creating dynamic and interactive user experiences.

1. Natural Language Processing (NLP):
   The advent of NLP empowers virtual setups to understand and react to voice commands, enabling human-like natural interactions in VR simulations and AR-guided experiences. This can take the performance of virtual assistants and real-time translations to a new level.

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2. Computer Vision:
   The real-world objects, gestures, and spatial layouts that are presented in AR applications can be intelligently analyzed by AI algorithms. For instance, contextual information can be accurately obtained in AR overlays with efficient object recognition models. Similarly, AI-empowered facial expression detection can improve realism in VR avatars

To cite some real-world examples: 

In healthcare, The AccuVein AR tool, used in healthcare, employs AI to analyze and overlay vein locations on a patient's skin for easier and more accurate injections or IV placements.

Similarly in industrial maintenance, Bosch’s Common Augmented Reality Platform (CAP) uses AI to recognize machine parts and overlay step-by-step repair instructions, streamlining maintenance tasks for industrial workers.

3. Reinforcement Learning (RL):
   The possibility of including Reinforcement Learning in VR is immense, including enabling it for dynamic content adaptation. Virtual Reality games can leverage these RL models to provide dynamic difficulty levels based on user behavior, providing personalized and engaging experiences.
   
   

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4. Generative Models:
   Virtual environments and visual overlays can be enhanced exponentially into hyper-realistic versions if we use AI-generated content instead of depending on manually designed assets. Techniques like GANs (Generative Adversarial Networks) can create hyper-realistic virtual environments in real-time.

The Changing Face of Industries

AR and VR technologies with the joined force of AI are transforming numerous industries:

1. Healthcare

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The contribution that AI-driven AR and VR applications can make in medical training, diagnostics, and treatment is immense:

• In Surgical Training: VR simulators can reproduce complex surgeries and with the help of AI provide real-time feedback on accuracy and technique.
• In Diagnostics: More precise real-time diagnostics is possible by overlaying patient-specific data against AR-generated images if assisted by AI-enhanced image recognition technologies.
• In Therapy: VR therapies are a common thing now, especially for aiding in treatments for PTSD, phobias, and anxiety, and integrating AI can align such mental health interventions based on user responses.

2. Education and Training

AI-powered AR and VR have the potential to completely redefine educational experiences:

• Personalized Learning Paths: VR simulations used for learning purposes can be further enhanced and tailored by AI to match an individual’s learning curve such that the courses go along with the student’s pace.
• AR in Classrooms: AR systems can intelligently use AI to translate textbooks into 3D visualizations, enabling an immersive learning experience.

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3. Manufacturing and Maintenance

In industrial settings, productivity and safety are where AI-powered AR & VR can contribute considerably:

• AI-Powered Maintenance Guides: Educational content in industrial training like instructions and equipment repairs, can be provided by AI-generated AR devices, providing a much more comprehensible learning experience, thus reducing downtime.
• Factory Simulations: Various workflows on a factory floor can first be tested by simulating them using VR. Such VR-generated environments can help in identifying bottlenecks and processes that can be optimized and efficiency improved through it.

4. Retail and E-commerce

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AI-integrated AR and VR can redefine consumer shopping experiences:

• Virtual Try-Ons: Virtual browsing and try-ons like fittings of clothes, glasses, or makeup can be facilitated by AR applications, enhanced by AI, especially to ensure precise rendering of textures and colors.
• Personalized Shopping Experiences: Using AI analysis, shopping experiences can be tailored based on user preferences and integrated with VR shopping platforms to recommend customized products.

5. Gaming and Entertainment

The entertainment industry benefits much from the advent of AI in AR and VR:

• Immersive environment: The level of engaging in-game environments and NPC (non-player character) behaviors that AI can create in VR games is immense.
• Content Creation: Similarly, AI can also reduce development cycles by accelerating the creation of VR assets which also have the quality of life-like engagement.

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Technological Foundations enabling AI integration into AR/VR

1. Edge Computing:
   For real-time AR/VR interactions, it is crucial to minimize latency and it can be achieved fluently only by processing data at the edge. This is essential for AI-powered AR/VR.
   
   
2. 5G Connectivity:
   Seamless streaming of AI-generated AR/VR content may need high-speed networks to enhance mobility and accessibility.
   
   
3. AI Frameworks:
   Advanced libraries are needed to drive AI functionalities such as object detection, NLP, and environment simulation within AR/VR platforms. Some of such libraries include TensorFlow, PyTorch, and OpenCV.

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4. Hardware Innovations:
   Devices like Oculus Quest, HoloLens, Apple Vision Pro, and AR glasses integrate AI accelerators to support real-time processing of AR/VR content.
   
   

Future Trends

1. Hyper-Realistic Avatars:
   The development of avatars that mimic human behavior and emotions can be facilitated by AI in VR environments.
   
   

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2. Collaborative AR/VR Workspaces:
   This can entirely transform remote workspaces by providing interactive tools to assist better communication and possibilities for collaboration.
   
   
3. Healthcare Innovations:
   AI-driven AR/VR will advance precision medicine, where simulations can be generated for each patient based on their specific biological and genetic data.
   
   
4. Emotion-Adaptive Content: AI can make virtual experiences more engaging and therapeutic as it can adjust the content in VR/AR based on emotional analysis.
   
   
5. Enhanced Environmental Realism: The joined force of AI algorithms and VR can generate hyper-realistic environments with advanced lighting, sound, and physics.

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AR and VR at TECHJAYS

How TechJays uses Unity Engine to develop Immersive VR Experience for Meta Quest

At TechJays, we're excited to share how our expertise in Unity Engine and Meta Quest VR headsets allows us to create impactful and immersive VR solutions. As we dive into the technical aspects of our work, we'll highlight how we use Unity Engine to build interactive and realistic VR experiences, demonstrating our skill set and approach.

Why Unity Engine for VR Development?

Unity Engine is a powerful tool for VR development due to its versatility and extensive feature set. For Meta Quest VR headsets, Unity provides a robust platform that supports high-performance rendering, intuitive interaction design, and seamless integration with VR hardware. We use Unity Engine to deliver top-notch VR solutions:

1. Creating Realistic Interactions

Realistic interactions are fundamental to a convincing VR experience. We leverage Unity’s physics engine to simulate natural interactions between users and virtual objects.

2. Developing Aesthetic Environments

Visually good-looking environments are crucial for engaging VR experiences. Unity’s tools help us create quality environments that react to user actions in real time.

3. Implementing User Interfaces

Effective user interfaces (UIs) in VR need to be intuitive and easy to navigate. Unity provides several tools to build and optimize VR UIs.

4. Optimizing Performance

Performance optimization is critical for delivering a smooth experience on VR headsets. Consistent frame rates are crucial in VR to avoid motion sickness. Unity provides several techniques to optimize the performance for better VR experiences.

Our VR application in the Meta Store
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We launched our first VR application to Meta Store: an interactive walkthrough of a VR environment allowing the user to explore a virtual environment with complete freedom and interaction.
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The app was made using the Unity game engine with Meta XR SDK for Meta Quest headsets.

The app lets you explore a few immersive office interior environments in different daylight cycles by navigating the virtual space using intuitive controls like teleportation, movement, and snap rotation. The experience is further enhanced by specific interactive features, like playing video, grabbing objects, and pulling objects to hand.

Find it at the Meta Store Link: https://www.meta.com/experiences/techjays-office-tour/8439123209473841/

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AR at TechJays: Transforming Experiences with Augmented Reality

At TechJays, we are committed to harnessing the power of Augmented Reality (AR) to craft interactive and innovative experiences across various industries. By leveraging advanced AR development tools such as Unity Engine and plugins such as Unity AR Foundation, ARCore, ARKit, and Vuforia, we create impactful AR applications that seamlessly blend the digital and physical worlds. These state-of-the-art technologies allow us to deliver precise, immersive AR experiences, enabling our clients to engage with dynamic, real-time interactions in both indoor and outdoor environments.

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Conclusion

The confluence of AI into AR and VR is launching digital experiences into an era of unparalleled innovation. AI algorithms, computational hardware, and seamless connectivity will accelerate the adoption of these technologies across various industries. As we stand on the brink of this transformation, we at TechJays are committed to using our Unity Engine expertise to deliver high-quality VR solutions tailored to your needs. Our technical proficiency, combined with our understanding of Meta Quest VR capabilities, allows us to create immersive and effective VR experiences.

Get in Touch

If you’re interested in exploring how our VR development skills can benefit your business, contact TechJays today. We’re here to help you leverage the power of VR to achieve your goals and elevate your operations. 

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