How to improve on AR/VR learning path?

Question

jmgawe OP

Created Dec ’21

Replies 2

Boosts 0

Views 1.9k

Participants 3

Hi everyone.

I am a self-taught iOS developer for around a year and a half. It's going really great so far.

But there is nothing that interests me more than AR-related/ Rendering technologies. I am learning by myself about RealityKit, SceneKit, ARKit. Surely it doesn't go fast, but it goes somehow. Don't want to mention the Metal, that one goes really slow.

Is anyone able to recommend some courses/ teachings not only about these techs specifically but also about some fundamental knowledge that I could possess to make that learning a little more efficient? When working with Entities and their position, it's clear that I am missing fundamental math.

I've searched for some courses about Algebra/Trigonometry but there is a ton of it, and I'm not quite sure which ones should I pick to follow the AR path.

I've got all the possible notes from WWDCs about RealityKit/ARKit. But it's not enough. Metal WWDCs are simply too complicated for me at this level. I am trying to catch on to some C++ in my spare time but there is little time left for that.

I would highly appreciate your help. Thanks

Boost

Answer 1

philipturner OP

Jan ’22

I went through the same path as you and unfortunately had no choice but to learn Metal. Very bad experience because Apple was too slow to move on from Objective-C to Swift.

That aside, I have something that I think can fit your solution: try the tutorial series for ARHeadsetKit. It teaches you the fundamental concepts you’re thinking of, especially the concepts that will be relevant 5 years from now with smart glasses. You have to dig into the tutorial series a bit though (about halfway).

0

Answer 2

Vision Pro Engineer OP

Apple

Jan ’22

Just in case you haven't discovered them, besides the WWDC recordings, Apple also offers multiple sample apps that may help you getting started with ARKit. You can find them in the documentation section (all articles with the { } symbol contain a downloadable Xcode project).

In terms of external resources, I don't have a specific course recommendation, but searching for beginner classes in the fields of 3D rendering and augmented reality may be a good start.

If you're relatively new to the field, you'll likely profit most from making yourself familiar with RealityKit (or SceneKit) first - there's a good chance these rendering engines provide all you want to achieve, and they're abstracting away much of the complexity you'd have to deal with when using Metal. Custom rendering with Metal opens up additional possibilities for more advanced use cases, but you can dig deeper at the time when you really need it.

0