ARKit Brings ‘Take On Me’ To Life

Developers, using Apple’s upcoming ARKit API,  have been creating some impressive augmented reality apps and games. The latest to join the bandwagon is Chicago based TRIXI Studios!

The video game company has created an app that combines augmented reality with real life effortlessly. The app, which is not publicly available yet, illustrates the power of Apple’s augmented reality framework. Using Apple’s ARKit, the app gives iOS developers a relatively easy way to weave AR content into their apps without the need to make an engine from scratch.

The company released a video in which they seamlessly integrate augmented reality with real life, transforming dancing kids and the room into animated pencil sketches as they move into the drawn areas of the image. The founder of TRIXI, Chip Sineni told The Verge, “When ARKit came along, we were very excited by the idea that just ‘normal’ phones could do such great AR, so it seemed like the perfect situation to stress test what ARKit could do.”

The Norwegian band A-Ha, formed in Oslo in 1982, released their ‘Take On Me’ video in 1985. It integrates the real world with the comic world using a combination pencil sketch animation and live action. The original video took months to make because of the thousand hand drawn sketches that were applied to a live action shoot with rotoscoping, in which live action footage is traced over frame by frame to give the characters realistic movements. TRIXI can complete the process in just a couple of days. Previously Apple’s ARKit was used to created only augmented bar charts, fidget spinners and virtual pets. This video takes the technology to a whole other level. 

 The video, according to the team, was possible with purchases from Unity 3D’s Asset Stores, using GameFlow for visual scripting and Maximo for characters and animations. Finally, artificial intelligence assets were used to give the video logic. Founder Sineni added,“It is crazy how asset stores have democratized code and art for game making, that anyone can do this so quickly now.”

Watch their awesome video here!