The Designers Augmented Reality Toolkit is a set of software tools that support rapid design and implementation of augmented reality experiences and applications. DART is designed to facilitate the complete design and development process, from initial concept through experience and content testing to final product delivery.  DART empasizes rapid, informal content creation and early experience testing, promoting iterative design early in the creation process.  DART is built on top of Macromedia Director, bringing AR authoring to a wide range of designers.

Our work on DART was motiviated by our interest in experiences for informal education, digital art, and entertainment.   However, DART can be used to create AR applications in any domain (including industrial, military and scientific applications), and is especially useful for rapid prototyping and exploration. Since DART supports the devices commonly used in Virtual Reality, DART can also be used to create VR experiences and applications.

DART is for anyone (both technical and non-technical designers, artists, and researchers) who wants to create AR experiences and applications. All development is done in the powerful Macromedia Director multimedia programming environment, using metaphors familiar to Director user.  Content creation is done with your preferred video-, and sound, and 3D editing programs; any content that can be important into Director can be used in DART.

AR is a technology in which digital graphics and sound are overlayed on the user’s view of the physical world. The user typically wears a headset (HMD) and sees the world around her, but her view of the world is augmented through computer-generated images and sounds. DART allows you as the designer to program the images and sounds that she sees.

The DART extensions to Director are available for free download. For detailed information on how to download the relevant files, prepare the video and audio content, attach tracking devices, etc., you need to access the DART co-web.