Augen - Flutter AR Plugin
A cross-platform Flutter plugin for building AR (Augmented Reality) apps using ARCore on Android and RealityKit on iOS. Write your AR logic entirely in Dart — no native code required.
Features
- Plane Detection — detect horizontal and vertical surfaces
- 3D Objects — place primitives (sphere, cube, cylinder) or load custom models (GLTF, GLB, OBJ, USDZ)
- Hit Testing — tap-to-place objects on detected surfaces
- Image Tracking — track real-world images and anchor content to them
- Face Tracking — detect faces with facial landmarks and expressions
- Cloud Anchors — persist and share AR anchors across sessions and devices
- Occlusion — depth, person, and plane occlusion for realistic rendering
- Physics — dynamic, static, and kinematic bodies with forces, impulses, and constraints
- Multi-User AR — shared sessions with real-time object synchronization
- Lighting & Shadows — directional, point, spot, and ambient lights with configurable shadows
- Environmental Probes — realistic reflections and environmental lighting
- Animations — skeletal animations with blending, transitions, and state machines
For detailed API docs and advanced usage, see Documentation.md.
Platform Requirements
| Platform | Minimum Version | AR Framework |
|---|---|---|
| Android | API 24 (Android 7.0) | ARCore |
| iOS | iOS 13.0 | RealityKit & ARKit |
SDK: Flutter >= 3.3.0, Dart >= 3.9.2
Installation
dependencies:
augen: ^1.1.0
flutter pub get
Android Setup
Add to your android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml:
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.CAMERA" />
<uses-feature android:name="android.hardware.camera.ar" android:required="true" />
<uses-feature android:glEsVersion="0x00030000" android:required="true" />
<application>
<meta-data android:name="com.google.ar.core" android:value="required" />
</application>
Set minSdkVersion to at least 24 in android/app/build.gradle.
iOS Setup
Add to your ios/Runner/Info.plist:
<key>NSCameraUsageDescription</key>
<string>This app requires camera access for AR features</string>
<key>UIRequiredDeviceCapabilities</key>
<array>
<string>arkit</string>
</array>
Set the deployment target to at least iOS 13.0.
Quick Start
1. Display the AR View
AugenView is the widget that renders the camera feed and AR scene. When the view is ready, you receive an AugenController to drive everything.
import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
import 'package:augen/augen.dart';
class ARScreen extends StatefulWidget {
@override
State<ARScreen> createState() => _ARScreenState();
}
class _ARScreenState extends State<ARScreen> {
AugenController? _controller;
@override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
return Scaffold(
body: AugenView(
onViewCreated: (controller) {
_controller = controller;
_initAR();
},
config: ARSessionConfig(
planeDetection: true,
lightEstimation: true,
),
),
);
}
Future<void> _initAR() async {
final supported = await _controller!.isARSupported();
if (!supported) return;
await _controller!.initialize(
ARSessionConfig(planeDetection: true, lightEstimation: true),
);
// React to detected planes
_controller!.planesStream.listen((planes) {
debugPrint('Detected ${planes.length} planes');
});
}
@override
void dispose() {
_controller?.dispose();
super.dispose();
}
}
2. Place Objects via Hit Test
Tap a detected surface to place a 3D object:
final results = await _controller!.hitTest(screenX, screenY);
if (results.isNotEmpty) {
await _controller!.addNode(
ARNode(
id: 'sphere_1',
type: NodeType.sphere,
position: results.first.position,
scale: Vector3(0.1, 0.1, 0.1),
),
);
}
3. Load Custom 3D Models
// From Flutter assets
await _controller!.addModelFromAsset(
id: 'ship',
assetPath: 'assets/models/spaceship.glb',
position: Vector3(0, 0, -1),
scale: Vector3(0.1, 0.1, 0.1),
);
// From a URL
await _controller!.addModelFromUrl(
id: 'building',
url: 'https://example.com/models/building.glb',
position: Vector3(1, 0, -2),
modelFormat: ModelFormat.glb,
);
Recommended formats: GLB for Android, USDZ for iOS. GLTF and OBJ are also supported.
Architecture Overview
augen/
lib/
augen.dart # Public barrel export
src/
augen_controller.dart # AugenController — all AR operations
augen_view.dart # AugenView widget
models/ # Data classes (ARNode, ARPlane, Vector3, etc.)
android/ # Kotlin — ARCore integration
ios/ # Swift — RealityKit / ARKit integration
example/ # Full-featured demo app
test/ # Unit and integration tests
How it works: AugenView creates a platform view (Android: PlatformViewLink, iOS: UiKitView) that hosts the native AR renderer. All communication between Dart and native happens through Flutter method channels, abstracted behind AugenController.
Key Classes
| Class | Purpose |
|---|---|
AugenView |
Widget that displays the AR camera + scene |
AugenController |
Controls the AR session — add/remove nodes, hit test, manage anchors, animations, physics, etc. |
ARSessionConfig |
Session options: plane detection, light estimation, depth data, auto focus |
ARNode |
A 3D object in the scene (primitives or custom models) |
ARPlane |
A detected surface (horizontal/vertical) |
ARAnchor |
A fixed point in world space |
ARHitResult |
Result of a raycast against detected geometry |
Vector3 / Quaternion |
3D position and rotation types |
Reactive Streams
AugenController exposes streams for all AR state updates. Subscribe to stay in sync:
_controller.planesStream // detected planes
_controller.anchorsStream // anchors
_controller.trackedImagesStream // image tracking results
_controller.facesStream // face tracking results
_controller.errorStream // errors
_controller.physicsBodiesStream // physics body updates
_controller.lightsStream // light changes
// ... and more — see Documentation.md for the full list
Example App
The example/ directory contains a complete demo app with tabs for every feature (planes, nodes, images, faces, cloud anchors, occlusion, physics, multi-user, lighting, probes, animations).
cd example
flutter run
Testing
# Run all tests
flutter test
# Run specific test suites
flutter test test/augen_controller_test.dart
flutter test test/augen_animation_test.dart
# Integration tests (requires a device or simulator)
cd example
flutter test integration_test/plugin_integration_test.dart
Troubleshooting
Android — ARCore not working:
- Verify the device supports ARCore
- Ensure Google Play Services for AR is installed
- Confirm
minSdkVersion >= 24
iOS — ARKit not available:
- Requires A9 chip or later (iPhone 6s+)
- Confirm deployment target is iOS 13.0+
- Ensure the
arkitcapability is declared in Info.plist
Camera permission denied (both platforms):
- Add the required permission entries listed in the setup sections above
- Request runtime permission before showing the AR view
Contributing
- Fork the repository
- Create a feature branch (
git checkout -b feature/my-feature) - Commit your changes
- Push and open a Pull Request
License
MIT — see LICENSE for details.
Links
Libraries
- augen
- Augen - Flutter AR plugin for ARCore (Android) and RealityKit (iOS)
- augen_method_channel
- augen_platform_interface