docs.unity3d.com
Search Results for

    Show / Hide Table of Contents

    Face tracking

    Face tracking is an important part of AR with many practical use cases, including face effects, filters, and "try-ons" which allow the user to simulate makeup, eyeglasses, or different hairstyles.

    Unity MARS applications have face-tracking ability when you deploy your app to an Android or iOS device. In the Unity Editor, Unity MARS applications can use face tracking in Recorded mode simulations. The Unity MARS package content includes default Session Recordings that are videos with pre-recorded face tracking data. You can play these videos in Recorded mode to test against recorded face data.

    AR Foundation face tracking might support some features that Unity MARS doesn't include. You can use both Unity MARS and AR Foundation APIs in the same scene to achieve your project needs.

    Using a facemask template

    From Unity's main menu, go to Window > MARS > Choose Template, and select the Facemask option. This opens a template Scene with all the elements you need to incorporate face tracking in your app.

    Creating a Facemask template

    To test out face tracking capabilities while designing your AR app, make sure that the Simulation view is open, and set its mode to Recordings.

    Device view in Unity MARS

    Placing digital content on a face

    The Facemask template places a head model in the middle of your Scene.

    Face model in the Scene

    To create facemasks, decorate this model as if it were a mannequin. When you drag a Prefab from your Project onto the face, different key ‘landmarks’ (such as the eyebrow or nose) light up as the cursor hovers that area. Release the mouse button to anchor the GameObject to that particular feature. Unity MARS places the GameObject as a child GameObject of the face landmark in the Transform hierarchy.

    To reposition a Prefab or move it to a different landmark, select the GameObject, hold down the Shift key, and then drag the GameObject to its new position.

    To control how dragged GameObjects should snap and align to the face, use the Placement Options section of the main Unity toolbar. The options available are Snap to Pivot and Orient to Surface. If you enable Orient to Surface, you can also select which direction Unity considers to be "forward".

    Placement Options buttons

    Note: If you are not using Unity 2019.3 or 2019.4, these options don't exist in the main toolbar; instead, they are in the MARS Panel's Placement Options section.

    Placement Options Panel

    Testing face tracking on Unity MARS

    To test your facemask in the Device view, set the Mode to Recordings, and set Source to one of the video options.

    To test your face tracking app in Play mode, you must enable the Simulate in Play Mode option in Project Settings. From Unity's main menu, go to Edit > Project Settings > MARS > Simulation > Scene Module > Simulate in Play Mode.

    Disabling the Simulate in Play Mode option


    Did you find this page useful? Please give it a rating:

    Thanks for rating this page!

    Report a problem on this page

    What kind of problem would you like to report?

    • This page needs code samples
    • Code samples do not work
    • Information is missing
    • Information is incorrect
    • Information is unclear or confusing
    • There is a spelling/grammar error on this page
    • Something else

    Thanks for letting us know! This page has been marked for review based on your feedback.

    If you have time, you can provide more information to help us fix the problem faster.

    Provide more information

    You've told us this page needs code samples. If you'd like to help us further, you could provide a code sample, or tell us about what kind of code sample you'd like to see:

    You've told us there are code samples on this page which don't work. If you know how to fix it, or have something better we could use instead, please let us know:

    You've told us there is information missing from this page. Please tell us more about what's missing:

    You've told us there is incorrect information on this page. If you know what we should change to make it correct, please tell us:

    You've told us this page has unclear or confusing information. Please tell us more about what you found unclear or confusing, or let us know how we could make it clearer:

    You've told us there is a spelling or grammar error on this page. Please tell us what's wrong:

    You've told us this page has a problem. Please tell us more about what's wrong:

    Thank you for helping to make the Unity documentation better!

    Your feedback has been submitted as a ticket for our documentation team to review.

    We are not able to reply to every ticket submitted.

    In This Article
    • Using a facemask template
    • Placing digital content on a face
    • Testing face tracking on Unity MARS
    Back to top
    Copyright © 2025 Unity Technologies — Trademarks and terms of use
    • Legal
    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookie Policy
    • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
    • Your Privacy Choices (Cookie Settings)