The coronavirus outbreak has changed the world like never before! Social Gathering, playing in groups, traditional classrooms, F2F corporate meetings, etc. became the old norms! Social distancing, self-isolation, online schoolings, online meetings, and online gaming are new norms now!! These new norms have increased the need for different platforms for learning, teaching, gaming, communicating, etc. To give realistic experiences to the user techniques like Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality & 3D applications are coming into play.
The sudden boom in the market for AR, VR, and 3D applications, created a need for more techies with these skill sets. But the good news is, by using Amazon Sumerian gives the power to create AR, VR, and 3D applications easily without requiring any specialized programming skills or 3D graphics expertise. In this blog, we will cover everything which you need to know about Amazon Sumerian.
We will be demonstrating how to configure Sumerain to create AR-based applications. If you want to create your first AR-based bot by following step-by-step instructions, refer to part 2 of this blog.
In this blog, we will cover
- What are AR/VR/MR?
- What is Amazon Sumerian?
- Why Amazon Sumerian
- How does it work?
- Benefits of using Amazon Sumerian
- Use cases of Amazon Sumerian
- Features of Amazon Sumerian
- Companies using Amazon Sumerian
- Amazon Sumerian Pricing
- Conclusion
What are AR, VR, and MR?
Augmented Reality (AR) is an interactive experience of the digital world and the physical elements to create an artificial environment. Apps that are developed using AR technology for mobile or desktop to blend digital components into the real world.
Virtual Reality (VR) is a computer-generated simulated experience of an alternate reality. It is used in 3D movies and video games. It helps to create simulations similar to the real world and provides the viewer using computers and sensory devices like headsets and gloves
Mixed Reality (MR) brings together real-world and digital elements. It gives you the ability to have one foot in the real world, and the other in an imaginary place. In mixed reality, you interact with and manipulate both physical and virtual items and environments, using next-generation sensing and imaging technologies. Mixed Reality allows you to see and immerse yourself in the world around you even as you interact with a virtual environment using your own hands all without ever removing your headset.
There is a huge demand for AR/VR-based applications in the market. As per Statista’s report, the global augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) market is forecasted to reach from 30.7 billion U.S. dollars in 2021 to 296.9 billion U.S. dollars in 2024 (Reference statista.com/statistics/591181/global-augmented-virtual-reality-market-size/)
And Amazon Sumerian will play a key part in the AR/VR-based development. Let’s explore amazing Sumerian!!
What is Amazon Sumerian?
Amazon Sumerian lets you create and run 3D, Augmented Reality (AR), and Virtual Reality (VR) applications. It lets you manage services like building immersive and interactive scenes that run on AR and VR, mobile devices, and your web browser. Amazon Sumerian is easy to design scenes directly from your browser and, because Sumerian is a web-based application, you can quickly add connections in your scenes to existing AWS services. Whether you are non-technical, a web or mobile developer, or have years of 3D development experience, getting started with Sumerian is very simple.
The Sumerian 3D engine provides a library for advanced scripting with JavaScript but you don’t have to be a programmer to create interactive AR, VR, or 3D! Use the built-in state machine to animate objects and respond to user input like clicks and movement.
Why Amazon Sumerian?
Augmented reality (AR) has already become a buzzword in the IT industry. Hardly there will be someone who has never heard about Pokémon GO, a bestselling AR mobile game played by millions of people all over the world. There are so many other games which are AR based! However, AR/VR isn’t just about games. AR/VR has breathtaking prospects in many industries including education, healthcare, construction, advertising, etc. Here are some of the use cases:
VR applications for training
VR is reshaping the learning and training industry. A major benefit of VR-based training is that learners can interact with virtual scenes and hazards all in a safe space. VR is an excellent tool for experiential learning in complex topics that are otherwise too risky, expensive, or dangerous.
AR advertising or experience
AR makes advertising interactive, allowing marketers and advertisers to reach out to consumers in different new ways. Many companies have already embraced this cutting-edge technology. AR base advertising has many benefits including Emotional Connection, Money-Saving Advertising, Boosting Sales, Improving Hyperlocal Advertising, etc.
Digital concierge application
AR/VR merges the digital and physical worlds so that devices and people operate seamlessly and we can get exciting new experiences for consumers and businesses. Many businesses use mobile applications that use augmented reality (AR) and AI to provide digital concierge services to visitors to retail outlets and commercial buildings.
Apply machine learning to 3D problems
Augmented Reality and Machine Learning are two disruptive technologies that are shaping new digital operating models. Augmented Reality bridges the gap between the physical and virtual world by overlaying digital snippets above physical objects.
“Putting AR and ML together, we get a dynamic combo that could be a solution for many pressing problems that diverse industries face”
Visualize IoT data
This trifecta of Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and the Internet of Things (IoT) is the heart of this emerging technology age! The Internet of Things (IoT) is a hot topic in IT and other industries. AR/VR hits a new dimension with the IoT’s ability to connect and utilize digital information from various other physical devices. With the help of specialized software and hardware, AR / VR overlays digital content seamlessly into the real world.
The majority of these solutions don’t need AAA game engines
- Private publishing options
- Ease of distribution
- Existing applications integration
- Familier applications / tools
How does it work?
Five simple steps is all that you need to move along with Sumerian:
- Upload your 3D assets to be used in your scene. FBX and OBJ format 3D asset files are currently supported by Sumerian.
- Create a digital character that will narrate your scene. You can select the appearance of the character and define its speech and behavior.
- Edit your scene by adding objects, changing the background, or animating the scene. You can regulate the behavior of an object using Sumerian’s visual editor or JavaScript editor.
- The next step is to publish your scene. The completed scene will be stored in the cloud. It will have a unique URL that you can use.
- The last step is to run your scene on a VR or AR or mobile device using a browser that supports WebVR.
Benefits of using Amazon Sumerian
Easy Integration with AWS service: With Amazon Sumerian experience the power of AWS to create smarter and more engaging front-end tasks. Using Amazon Lex you get the power to easily embed conversational interfaces into scenes and embed scenes in a web application using AWS Amplify. Use the AWS SDK for JavaScript directly in Sumerian to interact with your AWS resources, such as storing data in Amazon DynamoDB or executing business-logic processes with AWS Lambda.
Create 3D scenes in no time: Create and embed 3D scenes into existing web pages with Amazon Sumerian. The Sumerian editor provides ready-to-use scene templates and intuitive drag-and-drop tools that enable content creators, designers and developers alike to build interactive scenes. Developers with existing HTML, CSS, and JavaScript expertise can also write custom scripts to support more complex interactions.
Deliver on your own terms: Build your scene once and deploy it anywhere. Amazon Sumerian embraces the latest WebGL and WebXR standards to create immersive experiences directly in a web browser, accessible via a simple URL in seconds, and able to run on major hardware platforms for AR/VR.
Use cases of Amazon Sumerian
3D Web Page: Convert 2D apps with 3D content into your web page to let end customers interact in a new way with a simple click, tap, or swipe.
Augmented Reality: With the constant evolution of AR-capable mobile devices in people’s pockets, it’s easier than ever to deliver AR experiences that help customers connect with businesses.
Virtual Reality: Virtual reality (VR) leverages 3D environments or 360-degree video, combined with VR hardware to provide completely immersive experiences for customers.
Features of Amazon Sumerian
Create: With Ready use templates and State machine and scripting API start working on pre-configured scenes and asset packs that enables customization of textures and finishes, or the virtual concierge template that leverages Amazon Sumerian Hosts with voice integration.
While the State Machine editor builds dynamic scenes for user and object interaction such as camera control, animations, and voice commands. To expand on State Machine functionality, use the library of scripting APIs, a method to drive logic using JavaScript, create more complex interactions, or integrate scenes with other AWS services.
Integrate: integrate other AWS services using the built-in AWS SDK for JavaScript to access a full suite of AWS APIs for services such as AWS Lambda, AWS IoT, AWS Appsync, AWS Amplify, or Amazon DynamoDB. Store and manage all the 3D assets you create or upload in the AWS cloud. Leverage built-in voice and chatbot features with Amazon Polly and Amazon Lex directly in the editor.
Deliver: Browser-based publishing and distribution with Amazon Sumerian’s browser-based platform and with two clicks, distribute scenes globally in seconds for customers to access via a simple URL. Augmented reality experiences built with Amazon Sumerian run on Android and iOS mobile devices without requiring native app downloads.
Amazon Sumerian in virtual learning
AWS provides a cost-effective way to build AR/VR applications using Amazon Sumerian. With Amazon Sumerian, we can build an immersive and highly engaging virtual trainer experience without the need of any additional device or complex virtual reality platform management.
We will be discussing more it in our upcoming blog. But here is the sample architecture diagram for your reference.
Companies using Amazon Sumerian
Amazon Sumerian Pricing
As part of the AWS Free Tier, you can get started with Amazon Sumerian for free. Upon sign-up, new customers can create up to a 50MB published scene that receives the equivalent of 100 views (5GB) per month, for the first 12 months.
Conclusion
In this blog, we explored in detail about the AR, VR, and AWS Sumerian Service, why it is important along with its use cases, features, benefits, and more. In part 2 of this blog, we will demonstrate how to create, configure and publish a Sumerian bot with proper gestures and text-to-speech conversation! Stay tuned to keep getting all updates about our upcoming new blogs on AWS and relevant technologies.
For any further queries, feel free to post your comments, we are happy to help!
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