Animated digital sculpture, including fluid behavior, in AR

Phototaxis · AR sculptures

For artist Anu Ratikainen's Phototaxis project, flyAR optimized and rebuilt animated 3D sculptures into an image-tracked Unity AR app, including works with fluid simulation.

Client: Anu Ratikainen
Sector: Art
Year: 2024
Service: Culture, tourism & place-based WebAR
Delivery: Browser · QR

01 Problem

Problem

The artist had animated 3D sculptures that needed to work as AR objects. Some included fluid simulation, which WebAR did not support well enough for the project at the time.

02 Approach

Approach

We optimized and recreated parts of the assets into lightweight AR-ready versions, then built a Unity app with image tracking for five different sculptures.

03 Outcome

Outcome

Five animated sculptures became image-tracked AR artworks.
Fluid simulation could be shown in AR through Unity.
The project expanded flyAR's art-focused technical range.

Inputs we worked from

Artist 3D sculptures
Animation assets
Image targets

Audiences

Art audiences
Exhibition visitors

Deliverables

Unity AR app
Five image-tracked sculptures
Optimized AR-ready assets

Service used

Culture, tourism & place-based WebAR

Make place-based stories walkable, visible, and memorable. Designed for the real signage, languages, and maintenance.

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Worth knowing before you write a brief

AppsFlyer's 2025 benchmark across 28 billion installs puts Day-1 retention at around 25%. AR apps sit below that floor, because every reviewer is a single-use case, not a habit. WebAR removes the funnel. The link that opened the experience the first time still opens it the second.

Source: AppsFlyer 2025 · Adjust 2026

Read what installs cost an AR campaign

Rework runs around 12% of a typical construction budget. Peer-reviewed BIM studies in 2025 report that putting an optimised 3D model in front of stakeholders before the first pour prevents at least a third of that, and as much as half on projects that share the model early. One Asian rail case caught 3,000 design clashes and shaved 12% off construction cost on its own.

Source: Nature Sci Rep 2025 · Springer Discover Materials 2025

Read what 3D pre-viz prevents that drawings do not

Shopify's own data, drawn from millions of stores. The 65% sits next to a 94% conversion lift on stores that add any 3D content, and a 40% drop in returns when AR closes the imagination gap. The mechanism carries from product pages to construction, museums, and brand work.

Source: Shopify · The ROI on AR

Read why the imagination gap is not just retail's problem