The switch to Away3D

Been a while since I posted an update, but since that time I have run through experiments with PV3D, Away3D, Unity3D (not Flash), and, minimally, some iPhone-related techs.

The next project I've started working on relates to the human aspect of space exploration; in that, meaning Astronauts. As such, I've been working on yet another Augmented Reality piece that will give the user control of an astronaut on their desktop.  As I had already managed to do one, with relative success but less than amazing results, with PV3D, I decided to try and give Away3D a go. And I have to say, I'm much happier with it. It has its annoying moments, granted, but all-in-all, I prefer it as a 3D Engine.

A major portion of this project relies on character animation, however. And exported biped animations to Away3D can be a bit plucky. Unfortunately, most of my frustration came because I was using a newer exporter that didn't quite fit the format of how Away3D parses Collada animations. So ColladaNextGen is out. However, ColladaMAX 3.05C works quite well with it.

One of the major things I've noticed it lacks, though, is an easy, logical way to control animations. If you have an object that has a simple, looping animation, it works great. But I have a character that has to juggle a Walk Cycle, Jump Cycle, Idle states, and possibly a few more actions... maybe picking things up?

So I've actually created a CustomAnimation Class to help the SkinAnimation class out. It's simple, light, and is definately doing the job for me. :)  I posted it to Away3D's Devgroup on Google; so if anyone is out there trying to do anything similar, feel free to grab it!

http://groups.google.com/group/away3d-dev/browse_thread/thread/b9bfab1467641610?hl=en

Ares I-X NASA Exhibit

So earlier yesterday I recieved an email that the AR piece I did for the MyExploration site was incorporated into a lobby exhibit at NASA-HQ in Washington D.C. They sent me a few pics to show me what the results of the setup was! Very cool!

Augmented Reality - Tools

So let's talk Augmented Reality. I mentioned in my previous, introductory post that I was doing some creative flash work for NASA; and more specifically, did a 1 week rush to quickly adapt the Ares I-X project into a simple Melts-in-your-eyes-not-in-your-hand presentation of the rocket that is being launched. 

And while it's nothing "new" to the world of Flash-based Augmented Reality, it certainly was fun to do. And, surprisingly, very easy. But now what I want to do is to record my experience so that, as I progress onto more engaging productions, I can have something to refer back to.

FLARToolKit :: So, if you've done any research into Augmented Reality via the Flash Platform, you've likely come across a wealth of information on the FLARToolKit. And while I won't really indulge in a historical study, all that's really important to know about it is that it's the Flash adaptation of the ARToolKit, which performs the magic of using your computer's webcam to track specific marker patterns.

The FLARToolKit will be the base of any Flash Augmented Reality piece. At least those that aren't using some proprietary 3rd party software. Just using the libraries that come with the ToolKit, you can build any single-marker Augmented Reality piece you can think of. I only used the FLARToolKit and some self-built AS3 libraries to build the Ares I-X piece, as well as a few other more interactive prototypes that I'll be posting later.

FLARManager :: The FLARManager extends the functionality of the FLARToolKit, making marker managment more easily controlled through xml docs. It also allows for multi-marker tracking, which hosts some pretty awesome possibilities. I started using the FLARManager on the project I am currently working on, which is going to be an Augmented Reality representation of the results of the LCROSS Mission.

There's 1 immediate difference I have found between using just the base FLARToolKit vs the FLARManager, and that's performance. I went back, just for kicks, and switched out how the Ares I-X was loading, and got a very big FPS increase. Almost 4x, actually.

Marker Generator :: Tarotaro's Marker Generator has been what I use to get my marker patterns converted to .pat. There's also a few AIR apps that you can use to hold your marker up to the webcam and capture the pattern, but tarotaro's lets you just load your image files directly into the generator and manually adjust your resolution and pattern% settings; so the results are presumably better. If not, then it's certainly easier. ;) And it's web-based, so if you don't like downloading things it's perfect for you.