Augmented Reality (AR) is a technology that integrates computer-generated elements into the real world, enhancing users' perception and interaction with their surroundings. AR has gained immense popularity in recent years, revolutionizing various industries, including gaming, e-commerce, education, and entertainment. If you're a Flutter app developer looking to add an extra layer of interactivity and immersion to your app, integrating AR can be an excellent choice.
You can integrate AR into your Flutter mobile app using the predefined libraries readily available online. Some of these libraries include:
ar_flutter_plugin
arcore_flutter_plugin
Or you can import your pre-made AR projects into your Flutter app by using the flutter_unity_widget
package. This package allows you to import your Unity projects and deploy them into your Flutter app as a custom widget.
There are quite a few prerequisites for using AR in your Flutter mobile application. Some of them are as follows:
Development environment: Make sure you have set up a development environment for Flutter, including Flutter SDK, IDE (e.g., Android Studio, Visual Studio Code), and relevant plugins.
Mobile devices: AR development relies on hardware capabilities, so you'll need physical Android and/or iOS devices for testing. ARCore (for Android) and ARKit (for iOS) require specific hardware features like motion sensors and cameras.
Supported devices: Check the list of devices supported by ARCore and ARKit to ensure your target audience has compatible devices. ARCore and ARKit have minimum OS version requirements, so ensure your users' devices meet these requirements.
AR development kit installation: Install the required AR development kits and SDKs (e.g., ARCore for Android, ARKit for iOS) on your development machine. These SDKs provide the necessary tools and libraries for AR development.
Permissions: Be aware of the permissions required for accessing cameras and sensors on user devices. Request necessary permissions appropriately in your app.
Firstly, we have to install the dependencies required for AR integrations into your pubspec.yaml
file. We can do that in such a manner:
dependencies:flutter:sdk: flutterar_flutter_plugin: ^latest_version
Save the changes and run the flutter pub get
in the terminal to fetch the new dependencies into your pubspec.yaml
file.
After that, you can import the package in the dart file in which you want to use these packages.
import 'package:flutter/material.dart';import 'package:ar_flutter_plugin/ar_flutter_plugin.dart';
The usage of the installed dependency can vary from one dependency to another. However, the plugin we installed can be used in the following way:
class ARGame extends StatefulWidget {@override_ARGameState createState() => _ARGameState();}class _ARGameState extends State<ARGame> {ARViewController _arController;int _score = 0;@overrideWidget build(BuildContext context) {return Scaffold(appBar: AppBar(title: Text('AR Catch Game'),),body: ARView(onARViewCreated: (controller) {_arController = controller;// Set up AR session and tracking type here},// Add the AR scene with falling objects and the basket here// Use the score variable to display the player's score on the screen),);}// Implement game logic here, including handling object collisions and basket movement// Use the accelerometer and gyroscope data to move the basket left and right}
Lines 1–4: Here, we declare the ARGame
class, which is a StatefulWidget
. The StatefulWidget
means that this widget has a mutable state that can change over time. The ARGame
class extends StatefulWidget
, which means it can have a corresponding state class that manages its mutable data.
Lines 6–8: The state class of the ARGame
is made as it is a stateful widget, and inside it, a private instance variable _arController
of type ARViewController
is defined. The _
before the variable name indicates that it is private and should not be accessed outside the class.
Lines 8–22: Inside the build()
method, we return a Scaffold
widget. A Scaffold
provides a basic structure for material design applications, including an app bar and a body.
The body
property of the Scaffold
widget holds the main content of the screen, which is an ARView
widget.
The ARView
widget is from the ar_flutter_plugin
package and represents the Augmented Reality view in the app.
The onARViewCreated
callback is invoked when the ARView is created and ready to be used. Inside this callback, we get the reference to the ARViewController
, which we store in the _arController
variable for further usage.
Lines 24–25: These are comments that indicate where you should implement the game logic, including handling object collisions and basket movement using the accelerometer and gyroscope data to move the basket left and right. The actual implementation of the game logic is yet to be done.
The code provided represents the skeleton of the ARGame
widget. It sets up the basic structure of the app with an app bar and an ARView, which will be used to display the AR scene. The actual AR scene and game logic implementation, including game physics, should be added later based on the specific requirements of the game.
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