1. What do we mean by Augmented Reality in our software? #
With Augmented Reality (AR), your players can use their smartphone camera to overlay digital content onto the real world.
An image appears on a poster, a 3D object suddenly stands in the middle of a town square or text floats in the air.
In our espoto Online Editor, you create AR scenes and link them to your Tabspots.
An AR scene can serve two different purposes in a game.
1.1 AR as a check-in type #
Players “enter” the Tabspot by pointing the camera at the correct image instead of checking in via GPS or QR code.
1.2 AR as a solution type #
Players solve the Tabspot by finding the AR content and capturing it with the camera.
Please note:
Augmented Reality works in our native scavenger hunt app on Android and iOS. Our browser-based version (Web App) cannot display AR content. Therefore, only use AR spots for events that are played with the native scavenger hunt app.
2. Requirements & activation of AR #
You can find the “AR Scenes” management page in the admin area of our Online Editor.
It is not enabled for all user accounts. If the menu item is missing, please contact your espoto representative.
Please note:
Players need an espoto app version from September 2026 onward (version 4.0.0 or newer) and an AR-compatible device.
3. Basic terms: scene, model, trigger #
3.1 AR scene #
An AR scene is the container that you link to your Tabspots. A scene contains one or more pieces of content and has a name that is only visible to you, as well as an automatically assigned Remote ID.
The Remote ID is the internal identifier the game uses to locate the scene.
3.2 AR model #
An AR model is a single piece of content within a scene:
- an image,
- a video,
- a color overlay,
- 3D text, or
- a 3D object.
3.3 AR trigger image #
A trigger image is a photo or graphic that the camera is supposed to recognize in the real world, such as a printed poster, a sticker, or a painting.
Once our app recognizes the trigger image, the content appears directly on top of it.
4. AR content freely placed or triggered by an Image #
Each AR model can be anchored in the real world in one of two ways.
4.1 Using a Trigger Image #
The content is attached to the recognized image. Players need to find the image on site and point the camera at it.
4.2 Freely Placed (only available for 3D text and 3D models) #
The app places the content on a detected surface in the surrounding environment, such as the floor, a table, or a wall.
Players do not need to search for a specific image. They only need to move the camera around to detect a suitable surface.