Introduction to AR in Unity - Setting up your developing environment
Please notice that this is the first of a series of tutorials progressing from basic concepts to more functional and complex projects.
Aims
This tutorial aims to get you started creating AR applications using Unity and the Vuforia plug-in.
Prerequisites
-
Download and install Unity 2019.2.0.
Previous versions might also work, this tutorial was made using Unity 2019.2 Please be advised to also download the Android and/or the IOS build support as you will need them to create the compiled file of your project (please read instructions below).
-
Create a Unity personal account.
To use Unity you will have to create our own account as you will be prompted to login when you start running the software.
About the Vuforia Engine
As of 2017.2, Unity integrates the Vuforia Engine, this SDK allows you to easily create AR applications that you can deploy on both Android and IOS devices.
Installing Android or IOS build support
In order to compile mobile applications on your computer, you will need to make sure to download the Androir and/or the IOS build support, please notice that you will need to use a MAC computer with Xcode installed if you want to create a AR project for Iphone or Ipad as IOS build is not supported on Windows PCs.
When trying to install both SDKs you might find your self in two different situations, on one hand, you might have Unity already installed on your computer and you are missing the SDKs or you are doing a "fresh" Unity installation, both situations require slightly different procedures that will be explained in the following lines.
Fresh Unity installation
To install both the Android and IOS build support you should use the Unity HUB, ideally, you should install them when installing your Unity copy, you just need to make sure you tick the box for your desired component whilst following the Unity installation steps.