Reality Blending is Coming to AR!

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AR photographers, get hyped! The update we’ve all been waiting for is just around the corner, reality blending aka occlusion is incoming.

From the newest post to Pokémon GO Live – ‘Trainers have always dreamed of having their Pokémon by their side in the real world. As Pokémon GO has grown throughout the years, Trainers have been able to walk, play, and take snapshots with their Buddy Pokémon.

We are now introducing a new way for your buddy to become part of your world like never before. By taking advantage of the latest AR functionality on devices like the Samsung Galaxy S9, Samsung Galaxy S10, Google Pixel 3, and Google Pixel 4, we are developing ways your buddy can appear more realistically within the world around you. We are excited to announce that we are testing the new Reality Blending feature in snapshots for Pokémon GO.

With Reality Blending, Pokémon will be able to move behind objects, either partially or completely. Watch your Pokémon peek at from behind a bookcase, or jump out from behind the couch! This cutting-edge AR feature will roll out for testing to a small number of random Trainers with certain Android devices, starting with the Samsung Galaxy S9, Samsung Galaxy S10, Google Pixel 3, and Google Pixel 4. We’ll then roll out Reality Blending to more devices so more Trainers can share even more experiences with their buddies in the real world

This is a huge new development for AR in Pokémon GO. Currently Pokémon automatically remain at the forefront in your images, no matter the object behind them. The only option for more realistic blending with the environment was to edit your images, which takes a lot of time, skill, and access to editing software. With the new ‘Reality Blending’ feature, you’ll have the option instead to choose is the Pokémon moves in front of an object, or drifts behind it.

For example, instead of having the twig trailing in the foreground of this image, you could have Starly appearing from behind it instead, a much more realistic concept. When I imagined this Sudowoodo photo, I wished I could have had him peeking out from behind a tree instead of having him stood in front of one, with the new Reality Blending feature, this will all be possible!

Reality Blending makes AR photography much more realistic. When you take real world photographs your Pokémon will now be able to interact better with their environment by working with it, rather than taking over it. You’ll be able to play peekaboo with your Munchlax, hide your Oddish amongst the flowers, and have your Charizard soar between the trees! The options will be endless.

Niantic have been acquiring new companies that focus on AR technology, and have been teasing occlusion as a potential feature since way back in 2018, so we are so excited to see it finally coming to fruition!

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kittypokemonsalot
kittypokemonsalothttps://www.kittyramblesalot.com/
Turtwig obsessive, real life Psyduck, Pokémon GO AR Photographer, found footage horror fan and Pokémon GO Hub AR Queen

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