Area Target Generator User Guide

The Area Target Generator (ATG) is a Vuforia Engine desktop tool that takes a 3D scanned model as input and generates an Area Target database. In the ATG, you can review and edit the scan before generating an Area Target.

Installing the Area Target Generator

Minimum System Requirements:

  • The Area Target Generator is supported on Windows and macOS. Please see the table on Supported Versions for more details.

Get the ATG tool for your operating system from: https://developer.vuforia.com/downloads/tool.

NOTE: We recommend using the latest ATG version with the corresponding Vuforia Engine version as mixing versions can introduce compatibility issues. To benefit from the latest improvements, open the Space 3DT file and re-generate it as an Area Target with the latest ATG.

The ATG is linked to your developer account and can be used after you log in with your developer credentials. The ATG supports generating Area Targets from Matterport™ scans and from scans in the E57 format. The ATG extracts all necessary data to support relocalization in the actual environment. Additionally, the ATG generates assets and data structures with accurate representation of your Space for visual authoring, occlusion, and collision simulation.

For easy access over multiple ATG launches, your Vuforia Developer credentials and Matterport™ authentication credentials can be stored in the Windows credential store or the macOS Keychain by checking the Remember me box. The credentials will be removed again if you select Sign Out from the home screen.

For Windows

  • Unpack the archive, open the downloaded installer and choose whether to install for one or all accounts and, thereafter, select the directory to install the Area Target Generator. A shortcut is automatically created on your desktop when the installation is complete.

For macOS

  • Unpack the archive, open the downloaded installer and drag the installer file to the Applications folder to install the tool. For repeated use, you can create a shortcut on your desktop or pin the app to the start-menu.

Area Target Generator Interface

When you first launch the desktop tool, you will be asked to log in with your Vuforia Developer credentials, you can check the Remember me box to skip this step in the future.

Alternatively – in cases when others operate the ATG on your behalf but you don’t want to share your Vuforia Developer credentials, you can use the Vuforia Web API Authentication OAuth2 to generate credentials client_id and client_secret as username and password. The generated credentials must include the Create Dataset Signature scope to be able to generate Area Targets.

A Vuforia Developer Basic plan will have a quota of 20 Area Targets. Higher quota can be acquired by upgrading to the Premium plan. Please see the Vuforia Pricing page for more information.

Create an Authoring Space

The ATG can create a Space as a .3dt authoring file that lets you review and edit the Space before generating an Area Target from it.

Creating Area Targets from Matterport™ scans retrieves the model directly into the ATG from your Matterport™ account with an authentication flow using your Matterport™ login credentials or the legacy Matterport™ API token pair. For instructions on scanning with Matterport™ supported scanners and authentication, please consult our Scanning Guide Using Matterport™.

Creating Area Targets from E57 Data files, require scans from one of the supported scanners available on the Area Targets overview page. For a guide to import E57 data, please see How to Create an Area Target.

In the top left, new Area Targets can be created. Select between Matterport™ scans or E57 Data files. Importing a scan will create an authoring Space. The Space is saved as a .3dt Space file under your user account’s directory. For example, /User/Vuforia/AreaTargets/TargetName.

Creating Area Targets from 3DT Space files offers the opportunity to import and process the 3D representation of a space skipping the process of downloading and input conversion. Open a previously created Space by clicking 3DT Space and browsing to the Space file.

In the top right, you can click Edit to use the Edit Space toolset or the Navigation space to review your Space. Clicking Generate will produce an Area Target from the edited authoring model.

The top banner contains SettingsUser GuideSupport, and Sign out.

  • Settings contain options for authentication flows when creating Spaces from Matterport™ scan data. Choose between OAuth credentials and API Tokens.

  • Set the Developer Option to generate package assets for Unity Editor or for Vuforia Studio.

    NOTE: When using the Vuforia Studio Developer option, loading of 3DT space files that were generated from E57 input might fail. In that case, please import the E57 Data file again and continue with Area Target generation from there. More on using Area Targets with Vuforia Studio is available in the Vuforia Studio Help Center.

  • User Guide opens a browser window to this page.
  • Support opens a browser window to the Vuforia Developer Support page.
  • Sign Out releases the stored Vuforia and Matterport™ access details (if any) and closes the ATG. You will be required to re-enter valid credentials on the next application launch.

Navigate Space

In the Spatial Viewer, a Navigate Space toolset offers various ways to review the model:

Switch between viewing the authoring Space as a 3D model - either textured mesh or point-cloud - or view it as panorama images. In the Pano view, panorama locations are marked with green hexagons.

Switch between viewing the model with the mouse – rotating the view around the model, or in a first-person view - where you can move around with the WASD or the arrow keys on your keyboard.

Mask the ceiling temporarily during viewing if it’s obstructing the view with the slider. The masked parts will still be a part of the generated Area Target!

In the hamburger menu More…, you can quickly switch between viewing the whole Space or dive in for a look inside the Space. Backface culling is a toggle on whether the front layers of the Space should be transparent or not. The Point Size can be adjusted if you are using a Space with point-cloud representation.

Edit Space

To enter the editing mode, select “Edit” in the top toolbar. Edit the Space in two ways:

The INCLUDE lasso tool with crop away everything outside the closed lines.

The EXCLUDE lasso tool with crop away the parts marked inside the closed lines.

Edits can be undone with the back arrow one-by-one, or the revert arrow all at once.

Continue to How to Create Area Targets for a step-by-step guide on importing scanned spaces and generating Area Targets in the ATG.

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