Task 3: MVP Prototype
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Process & Presentation (Pair - Naura & Natania)
TASK DELEGATION:
Over the past few weeks, Naura and I have been working hard to bring our AR project prototype to life. Our app is called ARchify, which essentially allows users to preview architectura and other vertical elements in AR, styled in minimalist or maximalist aesthetics.
To begin, we divided our responsibilities: I made one partition, one window 3D model (created in Blender), found sound effects, and experimented with the AR setup with Unity and AR Foundation, while Naura also did wainscotting and one partition herself, and created the app icon, and UI, buttons, and scene management in the unity project.
Early in development, we experimented with a Blender plugin called Multi-User — a tool that lets multiple users collaborate on a single file in real time. Unfortunately, we ran into connection and IP setup issues that made it too complex for our workflow. It was a cool concept, but impractical for our timeline.
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| Fig. 1 UI Flow in Figma |
I focused on completing the UI prototype in Figma, including navigation and flow design. Meanwhile, Naura was setting up AR Foundation and watching Unity tutorials. Despite some delays (she got food poisoning from prawns — ðŸ˜), we kept each other updated. I sent her the finished Figma link, the Canva layout draft, and my in-progress Blender models. She shared back the final app icon and visual elements.
I used Adobe Audition to clean and edit the audio (since the site we found didn't allow free downloads). We then integrated the UI visuals and branding into Unity (kind of)
I attempted to continue Unity development by borrowing several devices (a Mac, a Samsung, a Huawei), but none worked properly. The borrowed Mac couldn’t run Unity Hub due to outdated macOS compatibility (Ventura 13 vs required Sequoia 15). The Android phones also failed to run the builds.
Finally, I managed to test things on Mr. Razif’s own device, and I tried out image tracking to work with AR Foundation. Unfortunately right after that when I tried to add more features it no longer worked (like the whole thing...)
The BIGGEST PROBLEM TT
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| Fig 2. One of the tutorials I was (dying) trying to follow |
Our biggest hurdle has been Unity itself. Most AR Foundation tutorials are based on Unity 2022 or 2023, while we’re now on Unity 6, which brought major changes. Tutorials were outdated, and even ChatGPT couldn’t help - I tried several fixes to get basic plane detection and cube placement to work. The plane was detected... but the cube never showed up.
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| Fig 3. One of the codes I attempted in an older Unity version |
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| Fig 4. GameObject of the Placement Manager script in Unity (helps with rotation and translation) |
Trying to implement markerless AR (plane detection + object spawning) proved much harder than expected.
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| Fig 5. The first project I tried but in the most recent Unity version (so I don't disturb the main project file) |
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| Fig 6. Unity Setup in ANOTHER file |
SOLUTION(?)
We have downloaded a Unity Package called AR Magic Bar Lite that allows us to be able to implement our wanted features onto our elements. We will customize it further in the future for the time being.. while it's not initially what we wanted it's what we have to adapt to.. Even then, the AR Magic Bar Lite was having some issues where we tried to implement our elements inside but they wouldn't show. I decided to make parent of the OBJ and turn it into a prefab, but adding the components of a 3D Object in Unity such as Mesh Filter, Box Collider, etc to see if it would work out (it did!!!)
Current Status
At the moment, our app:
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Has a complete UI prototype (Figma)
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Has a wide range of completed 3D models
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Has custom sound design and app branding
UI interactions in Unity are half finished
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Able to make our element Rotate, Scale, and Translate like what we wanted
- Image Tracking idea (focusing on planes to make it easier)
- Scrolling feature for different furniture (AR Page)
- Comeplete UI (currently a basic prototype layout)
- Realistic rendering or textures for 3D Models
- Full list of elements and styles
- AR with non obstructing planes and functionalities
- AR with ARchify branding
Reflection
Honestly judging by how it took us 1 entire class to setup our macs, I should've realized how fragile technical setups can be, and how vital version compatibility is in Unity. While our output isn’t where we want it to be yet, I've learned alot about debugging and different ways to check for errors (unfortunately not what I was expecting TT) by recognizing error names, downloading Android Logcat, arcoreimg tool that rates the quality of image tracking references, etc...
Our next steps are to simplify what we’re trying to do technically — likely sticking to image tracking for now — and make sure one core interaction (e.g., placing a door in AR) works smoothly. From there, we can build upward.
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