ARToolKit
Encyclopedia
ARToolKit is a computer tracking library for creation of strong augmented reality
applications that overlay virtual imagery on the real world. To do this, it uses video tracking capabilities that calculate the real camera position and orientation relative to square physical markers in real time. Once the real camera position is known a virtual camera can be positioned at the same point and 3D computer graphics models drawn exactly overlaid on the real marker. So ARToolKit solves two of the key problems in Augmented Reality; viewpoint tracking and virtual object interaction.
ARToolKit was originally developed by Hirokazu Kato of Nara Institute of Science and Technology
in 1999 and was released by the University of Washington
HIT Lab. Currently it is maintained as an opensource project hosted on SourceForge with commercial licenses available from ARToolWorks. ARToolKit is a very widely used AR tracking library with over 160,000 downloads since 2004.
, Mac OS X
and Linux
-based systems. Recently it has also been ported to the Symbian
, iPhone
, Android and Windows Phone
operating systems to support mobile AR applications.
Augmented reality
Augmented reality is a live, direct or indirect, view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. It is related to a more general concept called mediated reality, in which a view of reality is...
applications that overlay virtual imagery on the real world. To do this, it uses video tracking capabilities that calculate the real camera position and orientation relative to square physical markers in real time. Once the real camera position is known a virtual camera can be positioned at the same point and 3D computer graphics models drawn exactly overlaid on the real marker. So ARToolKit solves two of the key problems in Augmented Reality; viewpoint tracking and virtual object interaction.
ARToolKit was originally developed by Hirokazu Kato of Nara Institute of Science and Technology
Nara Institute of Science and Technology
, abbreviated to NAIST, , or , is a national university consisting solely of graduate schools in Ikoma, Nara, Japan, founded in 1991. In 2010, NAIST ranked first overall among the 86 Japanese national universities in the first-ever six-year assessment of national university standards and...
in 1999 and was released by the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
HIT Lab. Currently it is maintained as an opensource project hosted on SourceForge with commercial licenses available from ARToolWorks. ARToolKit is a very widely used AR tracking library with over 160,000 downloads since 2004.
Features
- Single camera position/orientation tracking.
- Tracking code that uses simple black squares.
- The ability to use any square marker patternsFiduciary markerA fiducial marker or fiducial is an object used in the field of view of an imaging system which appears in the image produced, for use as a point of reference or a measure...
. - Easy camera calibration code.
- Fast enough for real time AR applications.
- Free and open source.
Operating systems
It is available for SGI IRIX, Microsoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
and Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
-based systems. Recently it has also been ported to the Symbian
Symbian
Symbian is a mobile operating system and computing platform designed for smartphones and currently maintained by Accenture. The Symbian platform is the successor to Symbian OS and Nokia Series 60; unlike Symbian OS, which needed an additional user interface system, Symbian includes a user...
, iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
, Android and Windows Phone
Windows Phone 7.5
Windows Phone 7.5 is a major software update for Windows Phone, the mobile operating system by Microsoft. Although the OS internally identifies itself as version 7.1, it is marketed as version 7.5 in all published materials intended for end-users...
operating systems to support mobile AR applications.
Spinoffs and related
- OSGART - a combination of ARToolKit and OpenSceneGraphOpenSceneGraphOpenSceneGraph is an open source 3D graphics application programming interface, used by application developers in fields such as visual simulation, computer games, virtual reality, scientific visualization and modeling....
- ARTag - alternative to ARToolKit that uses more complex image processing and digital symbol processing for reliability and resistance to light. Only licensed for non-commercial purposes.
- ARToolKitPlus - extended version of ARToolKit, only targeted to developers of AR-oriented software.
- Studierstube Tracker - Successor of ARToolKitPlus, many new features, closed source, not available for download.
- Mixed Reality Toolkit (MRT) - University College LondonUniversity College LondonUniversity College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
- FLARToolKit - an ActionScriptActionScriptActionScript is an object-oriented language originally developed by Macromedia Inc. . It is a dialect of ECMAScript , and is used primarily for the development of websites and software targeting the Adobe Flash Player platform, used on Web pages in the form of...
3 port of ARToolKit for Flash 9+. - SLARToolkit - a Silverlight port of NyARToolkit.
- NyARToolkit - an ARToolkit class library released for virtual machines, particularly those that host JavaJava (programming language)Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...
, C# and Android. - ARDesktop - ARToolKit class library that creates a three-dimensional desktop interfaceDesktop metaphorThe desktop metaphor is an interface metaphor which is a set of unifying concepts used by graphical user interfaces to help users more easily interact with the computer. The desktop metaphor treats the monitor of a computer as if it is the user's desktop, upon which objects such as documents and...
with controls and widgets. - AndAR - A Pure Java API for the Android platform.
- ATOMIC Authoring Tool - a Cross-platformCross-platformIn computing, cross-platform, or multi-platform, is an attribute conferred to computer software or computing methods and concepts that are implemented and inter-operate on multiple computer platforms...
Authoring Tool software, for Augmented Reality Applications, which is a Front end for the ARToolkit library. Was developed for non-programmers, to create small and simple, Augmented Reality applications, released under the GNU GPL LicenseGNU General Public LicenseThe GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project....
. - ATOMIC Web Authoring Tool Is a children project from: ATOMIC Authoring ToolATOMIC Authoring ToolATOMIC Authoring Tool is a tool that enables the creation of Augmented Reality applications, developed especially for non-programmers.It was created as a front end for use ARToolKit library without having to know programming....
that enables the creation of Augmented Reality applications and export it, to any website. Developed as A front end (Graphic Interface) for the Flartoolkit library. And it's licensed under the GNU GPL LicenseGNU General Public LicenseThe GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project....
. - ArUco: A minimal library for Aumented Reality applications based on OpenCv (BSD License)
External links
- ARToolkit
- Interactive Media Design Lab.
- Project page at SourceForge.netSourceForge.netSourceForge is a web-based source code repository. It acts as a centralized location for software developers to control and manage open source software development. The website runs a version of SourceForge Enterprise Edition, forked from the last open-source version available...
- Project page at LaunchpadLaunchpad (website)Launchpad is a web application and website that allow users to develop and maintain software, particularly free software. Launchpad is developed and maintained by Canonical Ltd....
- Web forum
- http://mgldev.scripps.edu/projects/pyartk/ python binding of ARToolKit
- http://nyatla.jp/nyartoolkit/wiki/index.php NyARToolKit(ARToolKit Java Edition)
- http://www.artoolworks.com ARToolWorks website