Hi,
I tried loading ImageTargets by *.ETD-Files. The database contains around 100 images. Loading with etd-files is not faster than loading image-files. The only advantage for now ist, that the etd-files are around 3 MB and the image-files are around 13 MB.
If I compare with Vuforia or Wikitude, that etd-files are something similar like the "precompiled" imageTargetDataBases in Vuforia or Wikitude. They are also smaller than image-files. But, the load very fast, because the App does not need to create ImageTargets from Images. The "precompiled" databases contain all targetData like FeaturePoints and InvariantScale and so on. What are etd files? Do they contain FeaturePoints? Why are they loading slow? If the only advantage is, that they are "smaller" in memory-size, than it is not a good advantage. Also, loading via image-files or etd-files has extremly different loading times. If I load 5 times with image-files, I get values from 9 to 22 seconds, until all targets are loaded. Sometimes it is fast, sometimes slow. Even 9 seconds are not fast, I tried the etd. I hoped to reach values like Wikitude or Vuforia, which loaded the same images "precompiled" in 1.1 second (Wikitude) and 2.3 seconds (Vuforia). But etd-file loading is always as slow as the image-file loading. From around 10 to 20 seconds. Sometimes "fast", sometimes slow. But it would be great to get times like Vuforia or Wikitude from around 1 or 2 seconds. This should be the advantage of etd files. Not the smaller memory size.
We are investigating all big AR Engines, and Easy AR is really good. But the loading times are a killer. Sure, if you use a Top-device, all may be "fine" or acceptable. For example the iPad 2018 loads the targets within 5.6 seconds in Easy AR. But Vuforia needs only 0.8 and Wikitude only 0.5 seconds. And times from around 10 till 20 seconds are measured with mid- and low-end devices. And Vuforia and Wikitude are between 1.2 and 4.0 seconds on this mid- and low-end devices.
Any improvement on this would be really great! Put all FeaturePoints and so on in the etd-files. Just load them, do not let the device make any calculations similar to loading jpgs and make them to targets. The etd should be the target and just loaded to RAM and the Tracker. May be you are doing all of this, but then there must be a bug ore someting ?!
Greetings,
Martin from KIDS