Now that you have Fologram installed it's time to take the app for a test drive. Fologram comes with two example models to test mixed reality experiences at different scales. The Villa Savoye model was created by VisualArq (a BIM modelling plugin for Rhino) and is saved at 1:100 scale. The Steampunk Pavilion is the same design model we used to assemble the pavilion in Tallinn and is saved at 1:1 so you can walk through and explore the structure as if you were there. 


Launching Fologram and granting permissions

Tap the Fologram icon ic_launcher-web.png from your home screen on your mobile or tablet to launch the app. When Fologram is run for the first time, you will need to allow permission for the app to access your microphone, camera and disk. Fologram needs camera access to run, so without granting this you won't be able to go much further in this guide. We need microphone and disk access to save images and video of mixed reality experiences.


Opening the models panel

After granting permissions, Fologram will display a camera feed and prompt you to scan a QR code to connect to rhino, or load a saved model. Tap the Models button Models.png in the bottom bar to open the models window. Then tap on the Steampunk Pavilion model to place the model in physical space.


How to map your space for model placement

Your phone will now prompt you to move around to map your space. Slowly walk around your room and take care to point your phone at surfaces that you will want to place your model on (e.g. floors, desks etc). The goal here is to show enough of your space to your phone that it can detect feature points and begin to track the movement of your device - so try to avoid large blank surfaces (especially black or transparent ones). Floor boards and cluttered desks tend to track well! 



Placing your model and going for a tour

Try to map the floor of your space - once the floor is tracked Fologram will display a placement surface as a white hexagonal grid. Move the target over one of this grid and then tap on your phone screen to place your model in this location. Note - the model is at 1:1 so it will be pretty large! You can now walk around your room and explore the pavilion. Be careful not to accidentally cover your phone camera (or put it too close to a wall or blank surface) or you might lose tracking and need to replace your model. Don't worry if you do, we will cover that next. 

Tallinn_Fologram_edit.jpg


Re-placing and scaling the Pavilion

You might have placed the pavilion model in a physical space that makes some parts of it hard to see or access. You can easily re-place your model by opening the Edit panel Place.png and then tapping the Reset button with the same icon. This will return you to the place screen where you can tap on the hexagonal grid to place your model. While the edit panel is open, you can also move, rotate and scale your model using multi touch gestures. Drag on the square grid with one finger to move the model origin, perform a pinch gesture with two fingers to scale the model up or down, and draw with two fingers to rotate the model around the origin.


Take some happy snaps

Tap the camera trigger (the big circle in the bottom bar) to take a composite image of what you are viewing in mixed reality. Tapping and holding the same button will record a video. 

 

To learn more about the Steampunk Pavilion, check out this short video that takes a behind the scenes look at its design and construction.