Explore AR creation with the latest Unity Learn Pathway

The new Mobile AR Development Pathway is now live on Unity Learn and ready to take you on an exciting journey into the world of augmented reality (AR).

In this free, self-guided course, you’ll build on your Unity skills and flex your creative muscles to create compelling AR experiences. Whether you’re gearing up for an AR career or just want to experiment and practice in your free time, the Mobile AR Development Pathway will help you get a handle on this in-demand skill set.

Visit the link below to get started, or keep reading to learn more about AR and what’s offered in this new Pathway.

AR, or augmented reality, involves using a device like a phone or tablet to overlay digital content onto the real-world environment. Have you ever used an app to see what furniture would look like in your home? Tried a camera filter? Played games like Pokémon Go? That’s AR.

AR is often confused with virtual reality (VR). The difference between the two is that VR uses a headset to immerse you in a new environment, so it feels like you’re somewhere else. AR isn’t immersive in the same way; it overlays digital objects onto the physical world, enhancing your surroundings.

Industries like entertainment, retail, construction, engineering, education, and marketing are rapidly adopting AR for a wide range of use cases, helping to draw in customers, make products more accessible, enhance training, boost brand engagement, and more.

AR has huge potential, and creators are still innovating new and exciting uses for this technology. We can’t wait to see what else they – and you – come up with.

PHAROS AR, by Childish Gambino, Wolf + Rothstein, and MediaMonks, was created to bring the artist’s interactive concert experience to fans on a global scale. Combining Childish Gambino’s music and imagination with the power of augmented reality, fans were treated to jaw-dropping visuals and an immersive, 4D music experience unlike any other.

Aardman Animations, the creators behind the iconic Wallace & Gromit series, have teamed up with Fictioneers to bring their loveable characters into the digital age with two groundbreaking AR apps. The first, The Big Fix Up, brings Wallace & Gromit’s adventures into fans’ homes. Fix Up the City, the second app, offers unique, city-scale experiences based on users’ surroundings in three locales: Cardiff, Bristol, and San Francisco.

This new Pathway will give you a crash course in building AR apps for iOS and Android devices. It should take you around around eight weeks to complete, but since it’s completely self-guided, you can work through it at whatever pace suits you. As you progress, you’ll use visual scripting and Unity’s AR tools to explore the basics of AR development.

If you don’t yet have a basic knowledge of Unity, we recommend first learning the ropes with our quick Unity Essentials Pathway before moving on to the AR Pathway.

The skills you’ll learn:

• Researching future AR use cases to prepare for developing new kinds of applications
• Evaluating platform capabilities and limitations to determine whether or not a given feature will work
• Developing AR experiences that use trackable targets in the environment
• Building AR projects for mobile devices
• Creating basic application interactions with visual scripting

The Mobile AR Development Pathway is split up into four Missions that will help you understand the basics of AR while guiding you through projects that you can use in your portfolio.

• Mission 1: Get Started with AR  – Learn about the AR industry, hear from established creators, and set up the software and mobile devices you’ll be working with.
• Mission 2: AR Face Filters – Create a simple filter that applies materials and 3D models to the user’s face. Then, create a more advanced experience with an app that allows the user to select and customize glasses.

• Mission 3: Markers and Planes – Create a marker-based app that recognizes a specific image, such as a QR code, and projects a 3D model on top. Then, move on to create an app that detects flat surfaces, allowing users to spawn a portal on their desk, wall, or floor.
• Mission 4: AR Experience Design – Use everything you’ve learned so far to create a UFO-themed collection game from start to finish.

Finally, you’ll have the opportunity to design and build your very own AR project to add to your portfolio. The only restriction is your imagination, so go wild and use what you’ve learned to create a fun and unique interactive experience.

By the end of the course, you'll understand how to use AR to make an app that stands out from the crowd and takes user engagement to the next level – all thanks to your new experience and design skills.

Unity Learn offers a range of free online courses to help you get comfortable creating engaging real-time 3D experiences. Other Pathways available on Unity Learn include:

• Unity Essentials – Learn all of the basics of getting started with Unity.
• Junior Programmer – The next step for anyone who wants to code with Unity.
• Creative Core – A deeper dive into the visual side of Unity, covering lighting, VFX, animation, and more.
• VR Development – An introduction to creating incredible virtual reality experiences.

Start a Unity Learn Pathway today.