Engine Developer Portal Target Manager

The Target Manager is a web-based tool that enables you to create and manage target databases on Vuforia’s developer portal. Choose between Device, VuMark, and Cloud Databases and upload your targets to the manager for visual evaluation and processing.

Supported Targets

The Target Manager supports target images of type:

  • Image Targets
  • Multi Targets
  • Cylinder Targets
  • VuMarks

You will need a Vuforia Engine Developer account to work with the Target Manager.
Follow this guide on How To Register as a Vuforia Engine Developer.

Create your target database

Create a database by following one of the three provided guides. Select the one that best fits the type of database you are going to use.

See also the Device, VuMark, and Cloud Databases section for a comparison of the three databases' differences.

Add targets to your database

You can add different target types to a Device Database to contain both, e.g., Multi Targets and Image Targets.

In the Add Target window, you can select between Single Image, Multi, Cylinder, and Object (Object has been deprecated and replaced by Scanned Model Targets). For a complete guide, please see Working with Device Databases.

You must enter a name, dimensions, and image source for each target. The target size that you define should represent the actual aspect ratio of your image. For example, a 20-centimeter-wide printed Image Target will have a width of 0.20 in meters. Depending on your target type, you may need to fill in additional dimensions to define your image-based target.

See the article covering the Physical Properties of Image Targets for information on creating image-based targets and Best Practices for Designing and Developing Image-Based Targets for improving your targets’ trackability.

If you receive error messages during target creation, please refer to the Troubleshooting Errors from the Target Manager section below.

Use your target database

When you have successfully added your targets, you can now download the device database or use the target IDs for your application. You can continue to add and edit targets in your database. If you make changes to a device database, remember to download and re-import it into your application or into the Unity Editor.

A device database is stored in a combination of an XML and a DAT file that can be downloaded as a Unity Asset Package or as a ZIP file.

Device, VuMark, and Cloud Databases

Vuforia Engine supports three database types for storing image-based targets. You can select the database type that best fits your use case based on the table below.

Device Databases are local databases of images that are stored on the user's device.

Use a Device Database when you need the fastest possible recognition of Image, Cylinder, or Multi Targets and if you do not need to change the target set for your app very frequently.

VuMark Databases are local databases of VuMarks that are stored on the user's device.

Use a VuMark Database when you need to recognize, decode, and track a VuMark.

Cloud Databases are databases of Image Targets stored online and queried over the internet.

Use Cloud Databases when you need to detect up to 1 million Image Targets or want the convenience of being able to actively and frequently manage your target library online. Cloud Databases do not support Cylinder Targets or Multi Targets.

There are also performance differences between Device and Cloud Database.

  • Query times for Device Databases are faster than for Cloud Databases.
  • Device Databases support tracking of multiple targets simultaneously, while Cloud Databases support tracking of one target at a time.
  • Large Device Databases can take a few seconds to load, while Cloud Databases can be queried as soon as your app starts. 

For further information, see the Comparison of Device and Cloud Databases page.

Troubleshooting Errors from the Target Manager

If you encounter problems during target creation, please try the solutions listed.

  Problem: Solution:
ERROR MESSAGE You get an error message while using the Target Manager to create or upload a new target.

Check the following conditions:

  • Your image is in one of the supported formats, PNG or JPEG.
  • Your image is either grayscale or RGB-24 bit. This means that 32-bit images with an alpha channel (RGB + Alpha) are not allowed.
  • Your image size does not exceed 2.25 MB

MULTI TARGETS

When creating a Multi Target (cube or cuboid), the aspect ratio of each image must precisely match the aspect ratio of the corresponding face on your cube or cuboid.

The aspect ratio is computed as the ratio of image width/image height. The following table lists examples of image resolutions and their aspect ratio.

Image

Aspect Ratio

A resolution of 1024 x 512 pixels 1024 / 512 = 2
A cube (all dimensions are equal) All Faces are always 1
A cuboid with dimensions W (width) x H (height) x L (depth) top and bottom face images W / L
front and back face images W / H
left and right face image L / H
IMAGE TARGET RATING A target is not detected by Vuforia Engine.

Image Targets are assigned a star rating, depending on the quality of the target. The star rating influences the robustness of the target with respect to detection and tracking. The star rating can vary between 0 and 5 stars. A higher rating is better because the Image Target provides easier detection and more stable tracking.

NOTE: A target can be detected by Vuforia Engine only if it is rated at least 1 star. Any zero-star targets cannot be used. If your database contains any zero-star targets, you should not select them when downloading your database.

For more information on how to create high-quality (and high-rating) targets, see:

Best Practices for Designing and Developing Image-Based Targets

Image Targets Optimization Techniques

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