AR Works

Documentation

Choosing a target image

The target image is the picture the phone recognises and locks onto. It is the single biggest factor in how steady and reliable your AR feels - a great target tracks instantly and sits rock-still; a weak one wobbles and drifts no matter what.

What makes a good target

  • Lots of fine detail - busy photos, illustrations and textured artwork give the phone many points to lock onto. Plain logos, solid colours and simple icons do not.
  • High contrast - strong differences between light and dark help. Faint, washed-out or low-contrast images are hard to track.
  • Non-repetitive - avoid regular patterns (grids, stripes, repeated tiles). The phone can't tell one repeat from another, so the content jumps around.
  • Asymmetric - an image that looks different when rotated helps the phone work out which way up it is.
  • Matte, not glossy - shiny or laminated prints catch reflections and glare that hide the detail. Print on matte paper if you can.
Left: a strong target. Right: a weak one that will wobble.

Will my picture track?

As soon as you choose a target image, the editor rates it right under the Target image picker:

  • Good detail - plenty for phones to find and follow.
  • Fair - may be slow to find - measured from the built AR target: phones may take a moment to lock on. More texture and contrast make it quicker.
  • Fair - may be slow or hard to find (estimate) - the estimate can't be sure about this picture: phones may be slow to find it, or may not find it at all. Wait for the measured rating, or test it on a phone, before printing copies.
  • Too plain to track well - big plain areas and few sharp corners. Phones may not find it at all: the QR code opens your experience, but nothing appears when they point at the picture.

The first rating is an instant estimate, worked out in your browser from the picture itself, so it can be wrong. When you publish, AR Works builds the real tracking data for the picture (the AR target) and measures exactly how much detail phones get - once the AR target is built, that measured rating replaces the estimate, usually within a few minutes. A start picture that is too plain is also flagged in the editor's top bar, and any scene with a too-plain picture is listed when you publish. It is only a warning: you can still publish.

Plain logos and icons

A simple logo or icon on a white background is the most common reason a target "doesn't work". Use a photo or a design with lots of texture and contrast instead - or put your logo on a detailed background, and crop away large empty margins.

In the real world

  • Print it large and flat - a bigger target fills more of the camera and tracks better. Keep it flat (no curling or creases).
  • Light it evenly - good, even lighting with no glare or harsh shadows. Dim or patchy light makes the image blurry to the camera.
  • Fill the frame - encourage viewers to hold the phone so the target fills a good part of the screen, and to keep it reasonably still.

Quick test

If you can clearly make out lots of fine detail in the image from where the phone will be held, it will probably track well. If it looks plain, shiny or blurry, choose a better image.

Note

AR Works also smooths tracking automatically once the target is found, but smoothing can only do so much - a strong target does the heavy lifting. If your content still wobbles, the target is almost always the thing to improve first. See Troubleshooting.