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Learn to create AR and VR apps in Unity

May 1, 2020 in News | 5 min. read
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Designed for creators new to AR and VR development, these comprehensive courses on the Unity Learn platform teach you the skills to build AR and VR apps for a variety of use cases.

As AR and VR headsets become more affordable and user-friendly, fields from marketing to construction are using AR and VR to design products and experiences and train their workforce. This increased adoption is reflected in the high demand for AR/VR engineers, roles that saw 1,400% growth in 2019 according to Hired.com’s “State of Engineering” report. Investment in AR and VR technology is likely to continue, with tech industry leaders recently having ranked AR and VR sixth and seventh, respectively, on a list of “The top 10 technologies for business innovation,” according to the eponymous 2019 KPMG report.

Unity is the leading platform for creating content for AR and VR applications. To help you get started with this technology, we’re highlighting some of our top AR and VR learning content on Unity Learn, our online learning platform hosting over 750 hours of learning resources for creators at every level.

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Introduction to XR: VR, AR, and MR Foundations is an 11-hour course that describes each type of technology, the history of how it first came into use, limitations and future potential for improvement, and how it’s being used in apps today. As you learn about AR and VR, you’ll develop hands-on experience with it in two ways. First, you’ll use Unity to build and run two simple AR and VR apps on your own smartphone -- a “VR Museum” app and a handheld AR app. Second, you'll brainstorm, define, visualize, and iterate your own original concept for an AR or VR app, ending the course with a thorough and peer-reviewed Product Brief that you could use as the basis for future development.

If you’re looking to dive right into a VR project, you can get started with VR Beginner: The Escape Room. This 3-hour project is designed for creators with knowledge of Unity fundamentals, and covers basic navigation with a VR controller, walks you through a VR prototyping environment, and teaches you how to add UI elements in VR. At the end of the project, you’ll get to explore and “escape” from the VR “escape room” experience we’ve created to help you reflect on how design choices affect your user’s interactive experience.

If you want to create immersive VR experiences and are an intermediate level Unity developer, Design, Develop, and Deploy for VR is right for you. Get coached by experts from Oculus and Unity in this 23-hour course that teaches you an extensive range of principles and best practices: from locomotion and hand presence, to optimization and testing, to user interaction and go-to-market strategy. While the course is geared towards developing for the Oculus Rift, the principles covered also apply to the Oculus Quest, and you’ll learn to avoid some common pitfalls we see developers experience when submitting their application to the Oculus Store. Take your VR skills to the next level with this deep dive into the principles of VR development.

VR for industry

The automotive industry is increasingly using VR experiences for everything from vehicle design to assembly training. Harness the power of VR in your design process with VR Development: Design Visualization for Automotive. This 16-hour course teaches you how to use VR during the automotive planning phase to evaluate designs and finishes in real-time, familiarize executives with the car, and effectively communicate design and engineering decisions with your clients and stakeholders. Throughout the course, you’ll learn how to build your own VR applications with Unity for immersive automotive design iteration and team collaboration.

VR use within the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industries is invaluable. It allows professionals to gather rich feedback, catch design flaws, and reduce the need for physical mockups, leading to safer job sites and huge savings on individual projects. Learn to use VR for your AEC projects with VR Development: Photorealistic Architecture Pre-Visualization and VR Development: Build a Full Construction Site Tour. These courses are designed for professionals new to Unity and VR, and equip you with a robust set of skills and best practices to develop VR experiences that will help you and your team evaluate logistics and safety hazards, familiarize work crews with construction sites, and effectively communicate the design vision to stakeholders.

AR for marketing and training

AR is a growing trend within marketing and sales strategies and can enhance the customer’s buying experience, create buzz around a brand, and improve the quality of customer support. Stay ahead of the curve with AR Development: Create Marketing Apps, a 15-hour course that teaches you how to design AR experiences to visualize products and narratives at any time, from any mobile device. Learn to create highly realistic and immersive virtual scenes by manipulating features, implementing interactive menus to quickly toggle between products, and incorporating media (audio, video, text, and images) to enhance the delivery and narrative of your customer’s virtual experience.

Courtesy of ABB

AR is well suited for on-the-job training and guidance, where it can overlay tutorials onto equipment, provide on-demand demonstrations on key procedures, and help reduce the occurrence of human error. In AR Development: Training Apps and Remote Assistance, learn to create realistic and immersive AR scenes by manipulating lighting, materials, textures, and more to create interactive menus and instructional interfaces that can be used as part of maintenance, usage, and repair training.

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Get started developing AR and VR experiences with the list of courses we’ve highlighted, and explore more great content on the Unity Learn platform. Thanks for learning with us!

May 1, 2020 in News | 5 min. read

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