Adobe released a powerful new AR editing & creation tool, currently named ‘Project Aero’. The key feature of Aero that sets it apart from similar projects is its direct 1st party integration with Adobe’s popular Creative Cloud suite, which millions of creators already use and love.
This article was originally published on October 17, 2018. The tool is now publicly available for download on iOS devices after more than a year in beta. There have been no updates on Aero’s availability on other platforms.
Creators can instantly export their 2D or 3D content from Photoshop CC to Aero. They then simply open the Aero app on their iPad and they can view the content in real dimensions in real space, leveraging Apple’s ARKit framework for high quality positional tracking.
Aero might ultimately become a tool used to prototype AR content, to create AR experiences, or it could be used as a visualization tool for creators making 3D designs of objects that will become physical. For example, a furniture designer could use Aero to rapidly see how their new chair would look in a physical room, and then adapt their design based on how it looked.
Right now Project Aero is iOS only, however Adobe tell us the “vision is to bring Project Aero to additional platforms and devices in the future.” Google’s ARCore SDK provides the same general ease to integrate high quality AR tracking for Android devices, but very few tablets have support for ARCore. Most Android tablet manufacturers use mid-range chips and low-quality rear cameras while Apple tends to use high end components. The result is that even the $329 iPad base model is able to support AR.
Project Aero is clearly in its early stages, but Adobe believes that it will help to push AR forward, helping to solve the issue of lack of compelling AR content by letting the many Creative Cloud users of the world use a toolset with which they are already comfortable.
