Augmented reality documentation is not clear / not working - AR

[santhosh-m-k-v]

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
Yes, the documentation regarding Augmented Reality (AR) setup for both Android and iOS is unclear, and the provided steps are not working as expected. Specifically, the integration of AR Foundation and Vuforia is difficult to follow, with some missing files (such as .so files for AR on Android) and errors arising from Unity exports, leading to broken functionality.

Describe the solution you'd like
I would like a clearer, step-by-step guide for setting up AR in Unity when using the flutter_unity_widget package, specifically:

Detailed instructions for setting up AR Foundation and Vuforia for both Android and iOS platforms.
Clear troubleshooting for missing AR libraries or .so files on Android.
An update or fix for any Unity package issues that cause compatibility problems with AR exports (e.g., missing libraries or build errors related to XR Plugin Management versions).
A working example or project template that integrates AR functionality seamlessly with Flutter using the flutter_unity_widget.
Describe alternatives you've considered
I have tried searching for additional tutorials or examples from other developers, but none seem to address the specific issues with this plugin and AR integration. Some users report building AR projects outside of Unity and then integrating them into Flutter, but that is not ideal for a smooth workflow.

Additional context
A few key issues include:

Unity AR Core libraries (like libUnityARCore.so) not being included in the Unity export, which requires manual fixes.
XR Plugin Management version compatibility issues causing build failures for Android AR projects.
Problems with iOS configuration not being clear, especially for AR projects.
It would be helpful if there were more direct references to the known issues in the documentation and potential solutions or workarounds for AR integration.

[timbotimbo]

Which readme did you follow, pub.dev or here on github? The pub.dev version is outdated.

For the rest, you'll have to describe or link your specific issues.
I've actually made ios and android builds with ARFoundation today (Flutter 3.24.5, Unity 2022.3.21) and didn't run into any errors.
With no idea which exact problems you're having, I'm not going to try every Unity or package version to find unknown issues without error messages.

Just some of your points:

• In you list, it is hard to see if an issue is ARFoundation, Vuforia or both.

• "Unity AR Core libraries (like libUnityARCore.so) not being included in the Unity export"
  My ARFoundation exports automatically include /libs/UnityARCore.aar. Where or why do you need the .so file?

• "XR Plugin Management version compatibility issues."
  You don't mention any error message or which version causes issues.
  The readme mentions why versions 4.3.1 - 4.3.3 are broken and how to fix that. I haven't seen mention of other breaking versions.

• "Problems with iOS configuration not being clear, especially for AR projects."
  Hard to help with just "not being clear", at which steps don't work are are too hard to follow?

This plugin is hardly being maintained anyway. The known issues list in the readme is likely 3+ years old.

You can also try the alternative flutter_embed_unity plugin, that example includes ARFoundation.
Although the steps needed for AR to work boil down to the same things.