Creating Markers

A marker is a compiled tracking file built from one or more source images. The tracker matches the live camera feed against the features baked into the marker. This plugin compiles markers inside the editor - no command line, no separate website.

The in-editor Marker Compiler

Open Tools ▸ WebAR Image Tracker for Unity ▸ Create Marker.

1. Drop one or more source images (PNG / JPG) onto the window.
2. The tool compiles a marker client-side, using the same mind-ar version the plugin ships at runtime - so what you score here is what tracks on device.
3. It scores each image's trackability with a per-scale feature view, so you can see where the tracker finds detail and where it finds none.
4. It writes the result straight into your project as a WebARImageTarget asset, ready to drop into an image tracker's Target File slot.

Already have a .mind file (for example, one compiled with the mind-ar-js online tool)? Drop it anywhere under Assets/ and the plugin's scripted importer converts it into a WebARImageTarget automatically.

What makes a good target image

Image tracking matches distinctive local features. The more unique, high-contrast detail an image has, the more reliably and accurately it tracks.

Tracks well:

• Busy, detailed artwork - illustrations, dense photography, intricate logos.
• High contrast and sharp edges.
• Asymmetric, non-repeating content (so each region is uniquely identifiable).

Tracks poorly:

• Large flat or gradient areas - a plain sky, a solid-colour background, a wide uniform border. The tracker finds nothing to lock onto there.
• Repeating patterns - grids, polka dots, regular tiling. The tracker can't tell one repeat from another, which causes the pose to flip between equally-valid matches.
• Low contrast, soft focus, or heavy noise.
• Strong rotational symmetry (the tracker can lock at the wrong orientation).

Crop out dead borders. A wide uniform margin around your artwork is wasted tracking area and a frequent cause of unstable pose. If the trackability view shows a large featureless region, crop it before compiling.

Physical dimensions matter

The printed image's physical Width and Height (in centimetres) are a property of the marker, so you set them on the marker asset's Inspector, per target - not on the image tracker. This is how the plugin converts the tracker's normalised output into real-world metres, so your content lands at the correct physical scale.

A marker produced by Create Marker is editable: select it and type each target's printed size. A raw .mind dropped into the project imports read-only at a 10 cm default - click Convert to WebAR Marker in its Inspector to make the names and printed sizes editable.

• Measure the printed size, not the source-file pixel size.
• Get the aspect ratio right - a stretched aspect skews the pose.
• Print at a sensible size for the viewing distance. Marker-sized (business-card to A5) works at arm's length; poster-sized works across a room.

Multiple images in one marker

The compiler accepts several source images at once and bakes them into a single marker file. Each image gets a Target Index in the order you added them (0, 1, 2, …). You then place one image tracker per index to track them independently - including all at the same time. See Multi-Target Tracking.

Tips for a clean print

• Print on matte stock if you can - glossy prints throw specular glare that washes out features under direct light.
• Keep the print flat. A curled or folded marker no longer matches the flat image the tracker learned.
• Light it evenly. Hard shadows across the marker change its apparent contrast and can drop tracking.