Vuforia Primer

Create a Developer Account

Head to the Vuforia Developer Portal and register for a Vuforia developer account.

Once you have verified your account, Log In to the Vuforia Developer Portal.

License Manager

Each application that you create using Vuforia requires a License Key. These License keys are free for development.

1. In the License Manager page, Develop > License Manager select Get Development Key

2. Enter a License name (usually the name of your application).

Figure 0.1.1 - Adding a Development Key

Note that this is a free development key and for apps that are not monetised. If you wish to create a monetised app, select Buy Development Key

Once you have created a license key, they are stored within the License Manager. Click on the License Name to access the license key.

Target Manager

Targets refer to objects which your application will recognise. You can create a database with several targets, so that when each of those targets are recognised, different content can be displayed.

1. In the Target Manager page, Develop > Target Manager select Add Database

2. Enter a Database name (usually the name of your application) and select Device as the Database type.

Figure 2.0 - Creating a Target Database

Adding Targets

Targets can refer to images or 3D objects. To add targets to your database, click Add Target

In the modal pop-up window:

Figure 2.1 - Adding Targets to the Target Database

1. Select a Target Type (Images are generally the easiest to work with)

2. Upload the selected file; and

3. Enter any other required parameters such as dimensions

4. Click Add

Vuforia has sample targets available to download from their library.

Once the target has been uploaded, the target should have received a star rating. Click refresh on the bottom right of screen if the target has not received a rating.

Figure 2.1.1 - Rating Targets

The star rating refers to how many tracking features a particular target contains. We recommended to only use targets with a rating of four stars or more.

By clicking on the particular target name, you can view the number and location of tracking features.

Figure 2.1.2 - Showing Target Features

You can learn more about Image Targets from the Vuforia Library

Add as many targets as required.

Downloading a Target Database

After all targets have been added to the database, Download the Database using the button on the top right of the Targets window

Select Unity Editor as the Development Platform

Figure 2.2 - Downloading a Target Database

The database may take several minutes to compile, depending on the sizes and number of targets. The database will be downloaded as a .unitypackage

Importing Vuforia Packages in to Unity.

In your Unity Project, head to Assets > Import Package > Custom Package

Figure 3.0 - Importing Custom Packages

Select the recently downloaded .unitypackage file.

In the Import Unity Package window, select all objects and click Import

Figure 3.0.1 - Importing Unity Package Assets

The Imported Vuforia Assets will appear in the Project window.

Figure 3.0.2 - Vuforia Assets in the Project Window

Going Further

See: Creating a Simple AR App to learn how to use Vuforia elements in Unity

Creating a Simple AR App