Augmented reality (AR) content platform company Blippar made a version of its no-code AR creation tool free to use. 

Blippar stated they are removing view-based pricing “as a response to creators calling for unrestricted access to web AR tools,” with hopes to empower more creators across industries to start building. The tool currently counts around 250,000 users. 

“This evolution from web2.0 to web3.0 requires creators to have cross-platform authoring tools to enable quick and easy content creation in the same way that tools like WordPress enable anyone and everyone to build 2D websites and blogs,” Blippar CEO Faisal Galaria wrote in an email to SDxCentral.

Galaria thinks the free service will aid this evolution. “With 5G, improved smartphones, and the roll out of AR glasses, the nature of the internet will change in the coming years from being 2D and screen-based to being an always-on digital layer around us all the time, transforming the way we engage with entertainment, education, marketing, and information sharing,” he explained.  

The tool can hold in-browser simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) capabilities, a technology that conceptualizes physical dimensions through feature points, allowing the AR application to identify and track 3D objects and layouts.  

Blippar works with clients through their AR studio, which includes strategic advisors to test out leading design concepts, allowing them to “build and test ... technology developments before ‘shrink wrapping’ them and making them available more generally through Blippbuilder and webSDK,” Galaria said.

Although no coding experience is required for Blippbuilder users, advanced developers can use their WebAR software development kit (SDK) for more sophisticated tracking ”using popular 3D frameworks, including A-Frame, Babylon.js, and PlayCanvas,” Galaria explained. While free to download, WebAR costs are tied to the views and hosting of the created space.  

Galaria also touted the platform's security measures.

“Users of Blippbuilder can create without any privacy concerns. We work closely with our cloud hosting partners, and content created is stored securely,” he said, adding that Blippar does not store personally identifiable information (PII) and has implemented single sign-on (SSO) from "well-known third parties, including Google and Microsoft.”