I have made a system which enables you to use multiple markers but only use one coordinate system. It is compatible with both Vuforia and String and is called Unified Coordinate System, or UCS.
Important notice: UCS requires a special installation procedure, available in the manual.
Download here:
http://pilotpage.monosock.org/fileadmin/files/UCS_04.part1.rar
http://pilotpage.monosock.org/fileadmin/files/UCS_04.part2.rar
Edit: new version (v0.6) here. Use the files above and then replace MarkerRecorder.cs
http://pilotpage.monosock.org/fileadmin/files/MarkerRecorder_v0.6.rar
Features video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uef8FFNA-F0
Android App:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.monosock.ucs
Please discuss any String specific issues here:
http://forum.unity3d.com/threads/108256-Unified-Coordinate-System-for-String-and-QCAR
Prerequisites:
-Unity3d 3.5 or later
-Vectrosity (can be purchased at starscenesoftware.com)
-UniFileBrowser (can be purchased at starscenesoftware.com)
-ObjReader (can be purchased at starscenesoftware.com)
Make sure you you use the latest version of all software.
-With this release, you can use different sized Image Targets when using Vuforia but due to a bug, you cannot use markers with a size x=1.0 when using different sized markers and you have to remove the SAMESIZE preprocessor. If all your markers have the same size, set the SAMESIZE preprocessor and then you can use markers which have a size x=1.0 as well.
-The installation process has changed. Please read it again carefully.
Changelog v0.4
-Changed plane effect shader. It now deforms the mesh in Unity instead of the vertex shader so it works with physics interactions.
-Significant performance improvement.
-Added ability to set the real world size of the augmentations so physics (acceleration) works correctly.
-Added support for differently sized markers in one scene for Vuforia Frame Markers and String markers.
-Augmentations are now the same size with both Vuforia and String.
-Geometry size units now represent meters in real world as long as the marker size is set correctly.
-Hidden menu displayed again when tapping three fingers on the screen in game mode.
-Removed support for hardware menu button.
-The settings are now the same for each scene.
-Added transparent blue overlay to geometry objects when in geometry mode.
-Changed Vuforia video background texture layer name so it doesn't interfere with other game objects.
-Modified the pose filter for Vuforia so it is more aggressive.
-The pose filter can now be switched off in the settings menu.
-The marker outlines now have the pose filter applied as well.
-Can now switch between Vuforia Frame Markers and Image Targets at runtime.
-Can now manually scale the geometry to one side only.
-Geometry object cannot be de-selected anymore by tapping on it. This is to enable manual scaling to one side.
-Scaling and moving geometry manually does not de-select the geometry anymore when touching it.
-OBJ geometry is now placed at a selected marker when loaded in geometry mode.
-Can now only load a scene at home screen and not in geometry mode.
-Added new constraint which aligns the normal of the geometry with the normal of the selected marker, called "Align Normal"
-Constraints of previous object are now removed when another object is selected.
-Moved GUI code to separate script to make integration with 3rd party code easier.
-Reduced flickering when using Vuforia Image Targets.
-Added option in settings menu which allows you to enable or disable the AR game content during geometry creation.
-Fixed a bug which prevented the messages from showing up.
-Fixed a bug which caused the deformed plane special effect to show up when it shouldn't.
-Fixed a bug whereby the mouse clicks on the file browser window were causing menu button clicks as well.
-Fixed a bug which caused the recording animation to work incorrectly when switching menus.
-Fixed a bug whereby the cube constraints where shown incorrectly.
-Fixed a bug whereby a selected object was not de-selected when saving a scene.
-Fixed a bug which caused errors when using "Clear Selections" on an *.obj object.
-Fixed a bug which sometimes caused Tracking Markers to be marked as Geometry markers.
-Fixed a bug which caused the marker size of marker 4 with Vuforia Image Targets to be incorrect.
v0.50
-Pose filter default value is on during first run.
-Fixed bug which causes unpredictable behavior when scene name is loaded which is not included in the game.
-Fixed a bug which caused an error when loading a scene.
v0.6
-Program now keeps same file version if nothing in the file save logic is changed.
-Moved the change log to a separate file.
-Can now only save and load scenes from a pre-populated list derived from the sceneObjects array set in the Editor.
-Messages are not removed after a certain time anymore.
-Fixed bug which caused a crash when adding geometry when the scene is not saved yet.
From the manual:
Introduction
Most Augmented Reality applications draw some 3d content on top of a marker or around a marker. With this method the marker must be in view at all times and camera movement is therefore restricted. The Method described here uses multiple markers and brings them into a single coordinate system. This enables you to point the camera anywhere, as long as there are enough markers scattered around. Another problem is that a normal AR scene is not interactive. The software does not know where for example the walls and floor of the physical scene are. The software described here solves that problem with a geometry creation system. This package also contains a special effect example which makes use of the video texture.
Vuforia uses a similar approach with the multitarget system but the relative marker position must be available during compile time which is often not the case. Also, a method for finding out what the relative marker position is in the first place is not available. Therefore, a dynamic, user based content creation system cannot be used with the Vuforia multitarget system.
The code included in this package is meant to be a reference or framework for game or application development and is not meant to be a game or useful application on it's own.
Introduction Most Augmented Reality applications draw some 3d content on top of a marker or around a marker. With this method the marker must be in view at all times and camera movement is therefore restricted. The Method described here uses multiple markers and brings them into a single coordinate system. This enables you to point the camera anywhere, as long as there are enough markers scattered around. Another common problem is that a normal AR scene is not interactive. The software does not know where for example the walls and floor of the physical scene are. The software described here solves that problem with a geometry creation system. This package also contains some special effects examples which make use of the video texture.
Vuforia uses a similar unified coordinate system approach with the MultiTarget system but the relative marker position must be available during compile time which is often not the case. Also, a method for finding out what the relative marker position is in the first place is not available. Therefore, a dynamic, user based content creation system cannot be used with the Vuforia MultiTarget system.
The code included in this package is meant to be a reference or framework for game or application development and is not meant to be a game or useful application on its own.
Hi,
This is very interesting! Does it work with the latest version of Vuforia, Unity 5.3.x, and current Android / iOS?