An Investigation of Running Load Comparisons of ARCore on Native Android and Unity for Outdoor Navigation System Using Smartphone

In recent years, the utilization of location-based augmented reality (LAR) has gained popularity across various domains, including tourism, education, gaming, and advertising. The advancements in AR technology have made it easier to develop immersive LAR applications. ARCore, a widely adopted AR development library, enables the creation of location-based AR apps on Android devices. However, the implementation of ARCore in real-time scenarios that demand significant computational resources, like outdoor pedestrian navigation, can vary depending on the chosen development environment. This research aims to explore and compare the running load performance of ARCore implementation in location-based AR applications developed with Unity and Android Native, which are two prevalent AR development platforms. The study involves building a prototype LAR application using both Unity and native Android, followed by comprehensive running load performance evaluations. The findings reveal that while both Unity and native Android apps can deliver compelling location-based AR experiences, native Android apps demonstrate superior performance and resource efficiency in outdoor scenarios, whereas Unity offers the advantage of multi-platform support and ease of development for complex 3D assets. These insights provide valuable guidance to developers in selecting the most suitable approach for developing location-based AR applications for navigation, aligning with their specific needs and requirements.