Physical book: Traditional vs. lay flat
The "problem": traditional storybooks don't work well with AR apps. The "solution": the lay flat storybook.
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The "problem": traditional storybooks don't work well with AR apps. The "solution": the lay flat storybook.
Last updated
...is exactly what I thought back in 2018 when I started this journey. In the guide, I've listed the physical book examples first because of how critical they are to a successful AR storybook experience. I learned early on that a traditionally designed book could lead to game-breaking glitches within the app. The first AR storybook I created years ago had a hard cover binding with nice, card stock pages. It was aesthetically pleasing and had a nice texture when you held it, but it didn't take long for me to realize that there was something terribly wrong with it. None of the pages in a traditional book lay flat. I had no idea that this would be a problem at the time. I figured "I can scan any image and use it for tracking, so I can put AR on any book!" The reason why it's a problem is because most AR technologies, and subsequently AR storybook apps use something called target tracking.
Target tracking, or image tracking, allows the app to track 2D images in order to deliver predetermined 3D assets. So if the page in the book is used as the 2D image that the app is looking for, the app will have a hard time tracking that image if the pages are not laying flat. (See Target Tracking in MetaSpark documentation).
The lay flat storybook is a plausible solution that would allow the AR app to properly track 2D images. Note that in the gif below, each page lays completely flat on the ground. This type of book would help to minimize glitches and errors within the AR app.
Tip: Not all AR storybook experiences necessarily need to be made using a lay flat book. Hard cover lay flat books can be expensive. A more cost effective alternative is a spiral bound book. I've also seen AR storybooks that are comprised of unbound, printed sheets. What's most important is that it should be easy for the user to use, regardless of what form the physical book takes.
