The experimental demo harnessing the power of lighting is incredibly well-made.
What would it feel like to be a wizard? This is a question we all have pondered at some point in our lives, at least some of us definitely have. Well, now is your chance to shine. A new AR demo lets you shoot magical energy bolts from your fingertips. An iPhone-based AR experiment by HoloForge Interactive makes your dream come true. Game enthusiast and CTO of HoloForge Interactive Oliver Goguel created a LinkedIn post showcasing an exciting AR lighting app. The demo reportedly enables you to play with AR light using your hands. He called the experiment “Let’s All Be Wizards”.
In the 53-second video posted by Goguel, you can see bright, pink energy or light beams buzzing between his fingers. It moves as if attached to the fingertips. Further, as he toys with the light beams, it gradually turns into an energy ball pulsating over his palm. Once he tosses it at a wall nearby with a flick of his wrist, the energy ball dissipates into the other side of the wall.
As soon as the post appeared on LinkedIn, people poured in their love and support for this exciting experiment. The video was also posted on Reddit later and garnered equally positive reviews. The comment section seemed thrilled about this demo. One user pointed out that it is made possible by a brilliant combination of 3D hand tracking and spatial understanding. More importantly, the magic was achieved by using the power of Real Time 3D hand tracking. Goguel, the creator of this experiment also revealed that the lighting app was created leveraging the power of vision-based machine learning and depth sensors. Using the innovative technologies, he has been able to create a digital twin of his own hand as well as its surrounding. From there, he successfully developed a 3D environment where real and virtual objects can interact seamlessly. The outcome looks nearly realistic and needless to say, extremely pretty.
The innovative demo used the Unity game engine to build the lighting app. Further, it was powered by iPhone with LiDAR. As of now, the feature includes iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 13 Pro, iPad Pro 11 inch (2nd & 3rd generation), as well as iPad Pro 12.9 inch (4th & 5th generation). LiDAR is now considered the coolest rick from iOS ever. It adds depth scanning to yield better AR experiences and photos. However, it is believed to empower more mixed reality products in the future, such as MR headsets and more.
Goguel further remarked that spatial understanding is the key to bringing innovation in the field of augmented reality. This is what makes AR technology unique. Thanks to spatial understanding, AR can now create tangible and believable experiences like this one. He also expressed his excitement and anticipation for an AR-powered metaverse, saying it could make some really cool things happen in the next generation of internet usage.
The experimental AR demo is available on GitHub to download for free.