Adobe Aero 1st Attempt
The Perks & Downsides
Here is my first experience at playing with Adobe Aero. If you don't know it, it's a iOS based tool for creating quick AR experiences. It recently came out with a beta desktop version that I also explored.
Components used to create this AR experience.
The Perks of Aero
1. It's easy to get started. No development background needed! If you have an iPhone or iPad, you can easily get started playing with Aero by importing 2D images and/or 3D models. If you don't have an iOS device, there is a beta version for Android and beta desktop version.
2. You can visualize your project in real-time while building it! How cool is it for you to see your project come to life in real-time? Typically you have to wait for production to see your design come to life, but with the Aero app, you are required to scan your environment before building your design, making it possible for you to build it in the real environment.
Build project directly inside the real environment.
3. A wide variety of asset formats are accepted. 2D &3D! You can import both 2D and 3D assets in your project to create immersive experience.
For 2D assets: SVG, JPG, PNG, PSD, GIF, and TIF.
For 3D, as long as you are importing OBJ files, you are all set.
4. You can take your project to anywhere you want! Since all you need is your phone to get started with using the app and all your projects and assets can be stored in Adobe Creative Cloud, there is virtually no limitations as to where you can pull up your project and get immersive. As long as you have good internet access, that is.
5. Easy asset transfer from Adobe software through Adobe Creative Cloud! If you are a dedicated Adobe user, you are going to love this. Your Illustrator and Photoshop files can be easily saved and imported into Aero through Adobe Creative Cloud, same with 3D assets. If you got any Dimension projects, there is a convenient export for Aero feature.
Export for Aero option in Adobe Dimension to make 3D file import easy.
The Downsides of Aero :(
1. Desktop projects does not open smoothly in mobile. Assets might get displaces. I haven't figured out why this happens, but if you try to open up on your mobile device a project created through desktop, some assets can get displaced. On top of that, any changes you make to the displace object do not sync back. For that reason, I recommend you build your project through the mobile device until Aero is bug free.
Comparison between design in desktop and design opened on phone. Left: desktop design Right: design opened on phone
2. 2D assets have blurry borders in AR. No clear reason why this is happening, but you will end up with blurry boarders for all your 2D assets no matter what file format it's in. Unfortunately, there is no real way to resolve this. I have tried importing images with higher qualities, but that don't seems to work. Luckily, your 3D assets don't have this issue.
Close-up of the Aero project, showing the blurry borders of 2D assets.
3. Not Android friendly, for now. Though Android beta version is available, it's only available for specific devices. If you are an Android user, you are kinda stuck with using the desktop version otherwise you can get yourself and iOS tablet or phone. But is that really worth it?
4. You can build more complex projects using the desktop version but you can't project it to your environment. The whole point of Augmented Reality is to be able to project your work into the real world surrounding you. However, that's not possible with the desktop version so you still required to have a compatible mobile device. Although you can still build your projects, but it's hard to accurately assess how it looks in reality. See image below for what desktop Aero looks like.
Building projects using Aero desktop (beta).
