Supported devices not working after update to v.3.1.1

[gangara]

Live annotations have stopped working on multiple supported devices (iPhone 7) after the app update to version 3.1.1. Multiple tests have been made, but this feature is not available anymore.

Error message: "Live annotations are not currently available for this session."

What could be the issue and how can it be solved?

[tmccombie]

Can you confirm both devices being used during the Chalk call, and which was sharing their view? Please also confirm that 'Audio-Video with Live Annotations' is selected on these devices under Settings within the Chalk app. 

I just tested on an iPhone 6s running Chalk 3.1.1 and was able to use annotations.

[gangara]

Unsuccessful tests were made between two iPhone7, both having Chalk v3.1.1, and between one iPhone7 (v3.1.1) and a laptop (desktop version).

More tests were made between a different iPhone7 (v3.0.2) and an iPhone8 (v.3.0.2), sharing alternatively their view. And between such iPhone7 (v.3.0.2) and a laptop (desktop version). In these cases annotations were working properly.

[gangara]

Also the "Audio-Video with Live Annotations" option was correctly selected

[tmccombie]

Thanks for the clarification. During these tests do you get the "live annotations not available for this session" right away, or after going through the initialization step? 

In Chalk 3.1.1 if you press 'Skip' at the beginning of the initialization, the call will default to A/V only. 

[gangara]

Thanks for the hint and sorry for the late response!

We have made some new tests and our guess is that this version is probably more "sensitive" to the environment to be shown than the previous one and you need to be a bit more patient during the initialization step.

Indeed, if during this step, you are pointing towards a not well defined environment (like a wall or something far) or you are moving too fast the application stays stuck in this step and the only option is to press Skip.

While if you are moving slowly, while pointing towards something closer and having more corners and feature (eg. the laptop in front of me) everything works correctly.

Our perception is that it was a bit easier before to make the system recognize the environment (less features maybe, not sure). Does this make sense?

[tmccombie · Accepted solution]

It does make sense. Thank you for your feedback. We did make some improvements to the initialization step in 3.1.1 so that may explain the change you've noticed when initializing. Walls and other blank, featureless objects will not work well with Chalk. as Chalk needs interesting features and an environment with good lighting to map an area accurately and well. This helps annotations stick to the environment rather than floating around. It sounds like when you have the right environment, you are still able to use annotations. Is this correct? 

This Help Center topic talks about the requirements and best practices for ensuring annotations work well in your Chalk session.