Mega user guide
Mega is a city-scale edge-cloud collaborative spatial computing technology developed by EasyAR. Through flexible acquisition solutions, stable mapping and positioning capabilities, and a comprehensive toolchain, it aims to create persistent, high-precision digital twin spaces for the entire physical world (e.g., cities, campuses, or large shopping malls). With Mega, your application can achieve large-scale indoor and outdoor precise positioning and real-world occlusion, delivering unprecedented spatial interaction experiences to users.
Mega has some differences compared to traditional AR capabilities:
| Image tracking | Motion tracking | Mega large-scale AR |
| Real-time recognition and tracking of planar images | Obtain the device's position and orientation relative to the real world | Associate and fuse the entire real world with AR content |
| ✅ Printed materials and 3D content perfectly associated and fused | ❌ Low relevance between AR content and the scene | ✅ AR spatial perception and environmental fusion |
| ❌ Need to specify which printed materials can experience AR | ✅ AR can be experienced anytime, anywhere | ✅ Full-scene coverage without single-point prompts |
Getting started with Mega
Unlike traditional GNSS positioning that relies on satellite signals, Mega is based on advanced visual positioning technology. By matching real-time image data captured by user devices with pre-built high-precision 3D data, it determines the user's 6 DoF pose in the physical world. Based on this pose, the application can render and overlay virtual content at the correct physical location.
You can follow the workflow below to start using Mega from scratch:
flowchart LR
A[Data collection] --> B[Build Mega Block map] --> C[Configure positioning library and place virtual content] --> D[Mega positioning]
Data acquisition
Mega provides various acquisition methods such as regular single-image, large-scale space, and mobile acquisition. You can choose based on the characteristics of your target scenario. Refer to the following table:
| Typical scenario | Acquisition solution | Acquisition device | Expected acquisition duration | Quick browse |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Large spaces (malls, museums) | Regular single-image acquisition | GoPro Max | Under 2 hours | Panoramic camera data acquisition |
| Extra-large spaces (large scenic areas, continuous streets) | Large-scale space acquisition | GoPro Max | Over 2 hours | Large-scale space data acquisition |
| Small spaces (rooms, shops, exhibition halls) | Mobile small-range acquisition | iPhone / ARCore Android phone | Under 15 minutes | Mobile space data acquisition |
| Single object (exhibits, equipment, products) | Mobile specific-object acquisition | iPhone / ARCore Android phone | Under 15 minutes | Mobile specific-object data acquisition |
Build Mega Block Map
After completing data collection, you need to proceed with creating a mapping task and upload the collected data to the EasyAR development center. The Mega cloud mapping system will automatically process and build the Mega Block map.
Different collection schemes correspond to different types of mapping tasks:
- Regular single-map task
- Large-scale multi-map fusion task
- Small-scale mobile collection task
- Object mobile collection task
After mapping is completed, you can view the mapping results:
Tip
If mapping fails, you can refer to the Mapping failure troubleshooting guide.
Enable localization service
After verifying the mapping results, you need to add the Mega Block map to the localization database before it can be used. The detailed steps are as follows:
- Configure the localization database
- Manage the localization database
- Verify the localization database availability
Tip
Troubleshooting
If you encounter issues or unsatisfactory situations during the above process, you can refer to the following topics for targeted solutions:
If the above topics do not resolve your issue, please collect the necessary data and information and report the problem to EasyAR staff.
Mega in-depth and advanced guide
After completing the basic setup of the Mega positioning service, you can refer to the following chapters to gain a deeper understanding of Mega's additional features and characteristics, and perform specialized optimizations for complex scenarios.
Advanced scenarios
When using Mega to build positioning services, you may encounter some complex scenario requirements. This section introduces specialized optimization solutions for these complex scenarios:
- Complex scenario optimization is a specialized solution for extra-large spaces, 24/7 operation, multi-floor, and high-similarity scenarios
Verification and diagnosis
Before your application goes live, you can verify and diagnose the positioning performance in the following ways:
- You can use simulation verification without on-site testing
- If convenient, you can also perform on-site verification
- If you encounter issues during positioning, you can collect diagnostic data and provide feedback to EasyAR staff
Operation and maintenance
As the service runs for a long time, the physical environment may change, and the business scale may expand accordingly. This section introduces how to perform continuous maintenance, optimization, and scaling of the service.
- Scene update: When the real-world environment changes, how to update and upgrade the underlying map data while keeping the existing virtual content locations unchanged.
- Service scaling: Solutions for handling business growth, including QPS estimation for positioning services, capacity monitoring, and service scaling procedures.
- Version migration: When the Mega mapping service undergoes a major upgrade, how to smoothly migrate existing data to the new version of the service.
- Data format upgrade: Smoothly migrate the data format of the positioning service to a more performant and newer version.
Reference manual
For the editor plugins and mobile tools involved in the entire development process, we provide detailed reference documentation:
- Mega Studio (Unity) is an integrated environment for map loading, content annotation, and simulation in the Unity Editor.
- Mega Toolbox (App) is a comprehensive toolbox running on mobile devices for data collection and on-site testing.
- Mega Toolbox (Mini Program) is a lightweight on-site testing tool that does not require app installation.
In the end
Welcome to using Mega to build your city-level AR world! If you need further assistance or encounter any technical challenges during development, you can visit the EasyAR Q&A Community to search for solutions or post questions. You can also reach out to us directly for feedback via business communication.
Finally, you can visit the EasyAR official website to get the latest product updates and industry cases. Wishing you a smooth and enjoyable AR development journey!