ARKit Roundup: Tesla Customization, Spatial Audio Recording, and Friend Locator [Updated]

ARKit demos have been popular over the summer, showcasing the features that iOS 11 users will gain on their iPhones once the new software update rolls out worldwide later in September. Today we've rounded up some of the latest tech demos of the software development kit, which you can check out below.

In the first ARKit demo, augmented reality and user experience designer Jelmer Verhoog has created an app that lets users design and customize a Tesla Model 3 car. This extends to the wheels, paint, and interior of the vehicle, and even includes driving controls. While Verhoog's demo is focused on the Model 3, it's easy to imagine other carmakers using Apple's ARKit to help customers when they're on the hunt for a new vehicle.

The next demo, by Zach Lieberman, shows off an interesting use of augmented reality and ARKit -- it allows users to record audio through the app, which is then visually represented by waveforms in an AR space. To play back the audio, users can physically move through it, with the ability to listen to the recorded audio both forwards and backwards. Check out the video below with audio to see Lieberman's demo in action.

An app called "Neon" was showcased recently, and it allows friends to find one another in the midst of overcrowded festivals. The app's Twitter page says it'll be out "this fall," and it appears to use its own social network to add close friends, find them through their own iPhones, and present their location to users as augmented reality chevrons that are easy to track down.


Augmented reality games will likely be a big part of the ARKit app market after the launch of iOS 11, and the developer of the new game Euclidean Lands is already working on an AR version of the puzzler. Since the iOS game's puzzles already float in space within the regular app, the developer has simply translated that concept into the real world with its ARKit demo, allowing players to walk around the puzzle, move characters, and rotate blocks.

Measuring apps continue to be consistently popular in the ARKit demo space, with a new app called MeasureKit having confirmed its launch for later in September alongside iOS 11. MeasureKit includes a bunch of detailed tools, including the ability to measure angles, make sure objects are hanging at the same level, and automatically detect someone's height. Watch a video of MeasureKit on the app's Twitter page here.

For more ARKit demos and roundups, check out our previous coverage in the articles below:

- Major App Developers Show Off ARKit Apps Ahead of iOS 11 Launch
- Latest ARKit Demos Include Sculpting, Food Ordering, Virtual Pets and Zombies
- Latest ARKit Demo Showcases Virtual Cosmetics Boutique
- Latest ARKit Demo Showcases Virtual Drawing
- Apple's ARKit Used to Recreate Classic A-ha 'Take On Me' Video
- ARKit Roundup: Turn-by-Turn Directions, Precise Room Measurements, and Pac-Man

Update: Tenor and digital studio Dift have partnered to create an ARKit-enabled GIF app, where users can place live GIFs in the real world.

Tenor said that its new SDK "is the first to let developers using Apple’s ARKit insert GIFs into AR experiences on iOS devices."