🤳Adding AR/VR Capabilities

Learn how to add AR/VR capabilities to your cloud-connected React Native project.

Now that you are able to successfully stream 3D content into React Native and know how to make custom adjustments, it's time to add AR capabilities to your project.

Viro Media provides a framework built for AR/VR development called ViroReact. It allows you to add AR/VR capabilities to your React Native app for devices that support ARKit (AR for iOS), ARCore (AR for Android), or Cardboard (VR for iOS and Android).

Viro libraries are now open-sourced and no longer maintained by Viro Media.

1. Setup a Simple AR Application

Clone our open-source React Native + Viro + echo3D example project.

Go to the root of the directory.

Run npm install.

2. Set your API Key

Edit the App.js script and type in your echo3D API key:

/*
 * TODO: Add your API key below!!
 */
 var API_KEY = "<YOUR_API_KEY_HERE>";

3. Build and Run the AR Application

Android

1. Make sure you download the Android SDK and platform-tools for building Android apps.

2. Set the environment variable $ANDROID_HOME and added platform-tools to $PATH variable.

In Linux/Mac:

export ANDROID_HOME=/YOUR_PATH_TO/Android/sdk
export PATH=$ANDROID_HOME/platform-tools:$PATH
export PATH=$ANDROID_HOME/tools:$PATH

In Windows:

• Right-click the Computer icon and choose Properties, or in Windows Control Panel, choose System.

• Choose Advanced system settings.

• On the Advanced tab, click Environment Variables.

• Click New to create a new environment variable.

• Click Edit to modify an existing environment variable.

• After creating or modifying the environment variable, click Apply and then OK to have the change take effect.

3. Build and launch the Android app by executing the following from the root of the project:

react-native run-android --variant=gvrDebug

iOS

1. Open ViroSample.xcworkspace under the ios/ directory in Xcode. Select the right "Team" for ViroSample and ViroSampleTest target under General -> Signing.

2. Hit play to build and launch the app on your iOS device.

4. Use your AR Application

First, add a 3D model to the console.

When the application is loaded on your mobile device, you might be asked to approve camera access permission.

Move the phone around and tap the screen to place the model on the surface.

The model will steam and render in front of you.

If the model is too big or too small, go back to the console and add metadata to affect its scale. After adding metadata, the model should change automatically.

You did it! 🎉