AR App Places Digital Signage in the Real World, Real Time

Published: November 8, 2018

VirtualSign – a mobile Augmented Reality app developed by INDE – allows sign makers to test and present their designs by virtually projecting them onto any building or flat surface in real time, using innovative AR technology.

The application – commissioned by SA International, a company that provides sign making software for all production environments – is intended to provide extra value to SAi customers through a cutting-edge, easy-to-use visualisation tool, that bridges the gap between digital and physical.

Utilising ARKit and ARCore frameworks, which allow for high-quality visual tracking, the app places digital content into a real-world 3D environment with the highest possible accuracy. Not only is this way of visualisation more precise and credible – compared to “traditional”, fully digital methods – in terms of anticipating the end result, but it also reflects a forward-thinking, innovative approach.

After launching the application, users need to log in to their SAi account, where they can access all their existing signage designs in a gallery view. After selecting the design they wish to visualise on a real-life building, billboard or other surface, the app starts scanning the environment, to detect flat surfaces the digital content can be accurately placed onto.

Once the environment has been mapped, the design appears on the chosen surface, where it can be rotated, scaled or moved manually, in order to optimise angle, size and placement. When the desired layout is achieved – in fact, at any stage of the visualisation and adjustment –, reference snapshots can be taken with one click, and shared via email or other channels.

INDE’s MobileAR application platform operates on iOS and Android smartphones, tablets and wearable devices to create incredible Augmented Reality experiences straight out of the box.

“Mobile continues to be a fascinating space for the deployment of AR. For many years expectation has sadly outweighed technical capability, but things are changing fast. Despite the inevitable gimmicks, the face apps, the inward looking marketing campaigns, augmented reality provides real power in the right hands,” said Alex Poulson, CEO of INDE.

Norbert Kovacs, INDE’s CTO added: “With the introduction of ARKit, ARCore, Facebook’s AR Studio and Snapchat’s SnapKit, developers are better equipped than ever to create meaningful and useful solutions for a wide range of use cases.”