ARToolKit is an open-source computer tracking library for creation of strong augmented reality applications that overlay virtual imagery on the real world.

ARToolKit was originally developed by Hirokazu Kato of Nara Institute of Science and Technology in 1999[3] and was released by the University of Washington HIT Lab.

ARToolKit was one of the first AR SDKs for mobile, seen running first on Symbian in 2005,[4] then iOS with the iPhone 3G in 2008,[5] and finally Android as early as 2010[6] with a professional version by ARToolWorks later in 2011.

[8][9][10][11] Ben Vaughan and Phil Lamb, the former CEO and CTO of ARToolworks, created artoolkitX to ensure that the software is developed and maintained and the ARToolKit community continues to be supported.

[12] The current version of ARToolKit supports Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, iOS, and Android platforms.