Instant World Tracking (WebAR)

ZapWorks Studio's Instant World Tracking functionality is a markerless tracking type designed to be deployed to WebAR, enabling digital content to be placed in world space in front of the camera.

Instant World Tracking example

Unlike World Tracking (app), Instant World Tracking doesn’t rely on ARCore or ARKit so is supported by the vast majority of mobile browsers.

As the name describes, this tracking type instantly places content without the requirement of initial camera motion to detect a ground plane. Once placed, an anchor point is set in the world and the content will remain in that position as the user moves.

Instant World Tracking is great for things like placing characters in your real world or simple visualization of 3D objects.

Adding Instant World Tracking

The Instant World Tracking subsymbol isn't currently built into Studio's subsymbol templates. To add Instant World Tracking to your Studio project, download the ZPP below.

Click here to download the subsymbol.

  1. Once downloaded, drag this subsymbol into the Symbol Definitions panel.
  2. Drag the Instant World Tracking subsymbol into your Hierarchy.
  3. Add your content into the exposed Ground attachment point.
  4. Preview / Publish.

Instant World Tracking Setup

Using Instant World Tracking

Once you've previewed / published your ZapWorks Studio project containing Instant World Tracking, you'll need to scan the experience in one of the WebAR sites listed below:

Simply head to a web browser and open one of the sites listed above, scan the trigger and your Instant World Tracking experience will launch.

If you want to use Instant World Tracking for a live campaign, we recommend directing your trigger to launch into either the Lite Branded (Pro) or Enhanced WebAR Distribution (Enterprise) methods. More information found here.

API References

Instant World Tracking is exposed through a simple API, via the Z.InstantTracker object, which like all Zappar objects, you can construct by calling Z.InstantTracker() in a script.

Click here to view the API references exposed by the Instant World Tracking object.

Instant World Tracking Beta

ZapWorks Studio also supports a beta version of Instant World Tracking. The beta version is a slightly modified implementation and removes some limitations you might find with the stable version. With the beta, you can now look away from the placement position and the content will continue to track. It also removes the requirement for a textured horizontal surface to place content.

Using Instant World Tracking Beta

To use the beta version of this tracking type, follow the same method found above. Once your project is previewed / published, go to https://wtbeta.arweb.app on your mobile device and scan your projects trigger as usual.

If you do decide to use this version of Instant World Tracking, please be aware that this functionality is currently in beta. This means that we are continuously working on it to make improvements. Please test your projects across multiple devices and browsers before publishing.

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