
Ask HN: How does a UI specialist transition to AR/VR? - krrishd
Being that AR&#x2F;VR are such new fields, it&#x27;s clear that there is no clear path yet.<p>I think that the future of interfaces lies in AR; as someone whose career has been focused on the UI side of things (everything from design to front-end engineering), I&#x27;d like to pursue AR while it&#x27;s still nascent.<p>The issue lies in that my work has been exclusively web-related, the software I write being predominantly JavaScript and the interfaces I design inherently being tied to flat screens. Is there a logical segue into (developing experience with) AR from here, or is it absolutely necessary to start ground-up with graphics and core CS fundamentals?<p>To be clear, I&#x27;m already studying CS theory and plan to delve into graphics, but I&#x27;m unsure whether I&#x27;m already equipped to dive into AR or not.
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vitovito
I'm glad you recognize that there isn't a path yet; many people don't!

The short answer today is: you have to ramp up on creating content in 3D
engines. If you can't build out all of the content yourself, you can't
effectively work. That means, to some degree, creating original 2D _and 3D_
assets. The #1 thing Microsoft tells designers who want to work with Hololens,
is learn Unity and learn the workflow to deploy Unity content into a Hololens
yourself, without developer/engineer assistance. (UnrealEngine4 is the other
major option.)

As a web-based designer, tools like React VR and A-Frame _might_ be useful,
but your tooling there is always going to be a distant second to the
established 3D players, and so your content quality will also lag behind.

YC's guide: [https://blog.ycombinator.com/how-to-get-into-
vr/](https://blog.ycombinator.com/how-to-get-into-vr/)

Some other Medium post that wasn't bad: [https://blog.prototypr.io/designing-
for-vr-a-beginners-guide...](https://blog.prototypr.io/designing-for-vr-a-
beginners-guide-d2fe37902146)

As far as using real hardware, your AR options are kind of limited if you
can't afford a Hololens. You could try and find a second-hand CastAR
Kickstarter developer prototype headset. You could maybe fake something with
the Vive's front-facing camera or the Leap Motion as a camera on an Oculus
Rift. You could cobble together a Pepper's Ghost-style Google Cardboard-alike,
like Aryzon:
[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/aryzon/aryzon-3d-augmen...](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/aryzon/aryzon-3d-augmented-
reality-for-every-smartphone) or this DIY version:
[http://www.instructables.com/id/Cardboard-
Hololens/](http://www.instructables.com/id/Cardboard-Hololens/)

But, mostly, of course, you have to have something to build, and blog posts
won't help you there! There isn't a curriculum of standard AR/VR exercises
like there basically is for web-based design (build a landing page, build a
CMS admin interface, build a shopping cart, etc.).

~~~
krrishd
Thanks for the comprehensive answer, all good stuff to look at :)

