Discuss spatial computing on Apple platforms and how to design and build an entirely new universe of apps and games for Apple Vision Pro.

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Missing Properties in BillboardComponent
In an earlier beta, BillboardComponent had rotationAxis and upDirection properties which allowed more fine-grained control of how an entity rotates towards the camera. Currently, it is only possible to orient the z axis of the entity. Looking at the robot in the documentation, the rotation of its z axis causes its feet to lift off the ground. Before, it was possible to restrain the rotation to one axis (y, for example) so that the robot's feet stayed on the ground with billboard.upDirection = [0, 1, 0] billboard.rotationAxis = [0, 1, 0] Is there an alternative way to achieve this? Are these properties (or similar) coming back?
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304
Mar ’25
Automatically Enabling Spatial Personas in App
Is it possible to create a button in my app that will turn on the spatial personas for the user? Currently the only way I know of turning on spatial personas is by selecting the cube icon in the FaceTime window which is quite clunky for people unfamiliar with the Vision Pro's UI. Any help would be appreciated.
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423
Feb ’25
Issue with Behaviors + Timelines in VisionOS
Hello, I'm unable to activate a timeline in my application through an OnTap, OnAddedToScene or OnNotification. In RCP I can test and play the timelines easily. When running in the simulator or on device the timelines simply do not run, regardless of the method through which I try to call the API. I have two questions: How can I check that my timelines are in my RCP project that's loaded into the scene? I don't see timelines in the entity hierarchy when I debug in RealityKit Debugger Is Behaviors a component I can manually set at runtime? I can very clearly see the behaviors component attached to my entity in RCP, but when running this code: .gesture( TapGesture() .targetedToAnyEntity() .onEnded { value in if value.entity.applyTapForBehaviors() { print("Success!") } else { print("Failure.") } } ) It prints "Failure." every time indicating to me that the entity does not have a Behavior attached to it (whether that's a component or however else the Behavior is associated with the entity) I also have not had success using the Notification system or even the OnAddedToScene behavior trigger which should theoretically work if a behavior is attached to the entity which the tap experiment indicates it's not. For context this is my notification trigger code: private let notificationTrigger = NotificationCenter.default .publisher(for: Notification.Name("RealityKit.NotificationTrigger")) @Environment(\.realityKitScene) var scene Attachment(id: "home") { Button { NotificationCenter.default.post( name: NSNotification.Name("RealityKit.NotificationTrigger"), object: nil, userInfo: [ "RealityKit.NotificationTrigger.Scene": scene, "RealityKit.NotificationTrigger.Identifier": "test" ] ) } label: { Text("Test") } .padding(20) .glassBackgroundEffect() } .onReceive(notificationTrigger) { _ in print("test notification received") I am receiving "test notification received" print statements as well. I'm using Xcode 16.0 with VisionOS 2.0 on MacOS 15.3.1
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533
Feb ’25
Loading USDZ with particle system crashes on Intel Macs
Hello, we have a RealityKit app that also runs on macOS via Catalyst. For specific USD assets containing particle systems we have observed a reproducible crash. Steps to reproduce: Open Reality Composer Pro Create new file Create simple particle system (default one is fine) export as USDZ Create project in Xcode Call Entity.load(… and pass in your USD Running this on an Intel iMac with macOS Sequoia 15.3 will lead to a crash with the following console log: validateWithDevice:4704: failed assertion `Render Pipeline DescrvalidateWithDevice:4704: failed assertion `Render Pipeline Descriptor Validation depthAttachmentPixelFormat (MTLPixelFormatDepthvalidateWithDevice:4704: failed assertion `Render Pipeline Descriptor Validation depthAttachmentPixelFormat (MTLPixelFormatDepthvalidateWithDevice:4704: failed assertion `Render Pipeline Descriptor Validation depthAttachmentPixelFormat (MTLPixelFormatDepth32Float) and stencilAttachmentPixelFormat (MTLPixelFormatStencil8) must match. ' iptor Validation depthAttachmentPixelFormat (MTLPixelFormatDepth32Float) and stencilAttachmentPixelFormat (MTLPixelFormatStencil8) must match. ' 32Float) and stencilAttachmentPixelFormat (MTLPixelFormatStencil32Float) and stencilAttachmentPixelFormat (MTLPixelFormatStencil8) must match. ' 8) must match. ' Xcode version: 16.2.0 iMac 2020 3,8GHz Intel Core i7 macOS Sequoia 15.3 FB16477373 It would be great if this could be fixed quickly or a workaround provided since it affects or production app. Thank you!
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454
Mar ’25
visionOS Widget Bug
When I was developing the visionOS 26beta Widget, I found that it could not work normally when the real vision OS was running, and an error would appear. Please adopt container background api It is worth mentioning that this problem does not occur on the visionOS virtual machine. Does anyone know what the reason and solution are, or whether this is a visionOS error that needs Feedback? Thank you!
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408
Sep ’25
WebXR and PSVR2
We got very excited when we saw support for the PSVR2 on WWDC! Particularly interesting is WebXR to us, so we got the controllers to give it a try. Unfortunately they only register as gamepads in the navigator but not as XRInputDevice's We went through the experimental flags and didn't find something that is directly related. Is there a flag we missed? If not, when do you have PSVR2 support planned for WebXR?
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306
Jun ’25
visionOS plane anchor rotation and wall direction are inconsistent
I have a problem with the wall plane detection using visionOS/ARKit: I am using ARKitSession's PlaneDetectionProvider detection.wall in the space of visionOS. I recorded the position and rotation information of the first detected plane, but found that the rotation value will be facing when the user starts the space. There is a deviation in different directions. That is to say, even if the plane is located on the same wall, the rotation quaternion will be different. I hope that no matter from which direction the user enters the scan, the real direction of the wall can be correctly obtained so that the virtual content can be accurately aligned with the wall. I have tried to use anchor.originFromAnchorTransform or Transform.rotation directly, but the rotation value is still affected by the user's initial orientation. In addition, I would like to know whether the user's initial orientation will affect the location information. If so, please provide a solution. Thank you!
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522
Sep ’25
A question about interacting with entity
I am a newby of spatial computing and I am using ARKit and RealityKit to develop a visionPro app. I want to accomplish such a goal: If the user's hand touchs an object(an entity in RealityView) on the table, it will post a Window. But I do not know how to handle the event "the user's hand touchs the object". Should I use hand tracking feature to do some computing by myself? Or is there some api to use directly? Thank you!
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556
Feb ’25
DragGesture that pivots with the user in visionOS
Apple published a set of examples for using system gestures to interact with RealityKit entities. I've been using DragGesture a lot in my apps and noticed an issue when using it in an immersive space. When dragging an entity, if I turn my body to face another direction, the dragged entity does not stay relative to my hand. This can lead to situations where the entity is pulled very close to me, or pushed far way, or even ends up behind me. In the examples linked above, there are two versions of how they use drag. handleFixedDrag: This is similar to what I'm doing now. It uses the value from value.gestureValue.translation3D as the basis for the drag handlePivotDrag: This version aims to solve the problem I described above by using value.inputDevicePose3D as the basis of the gesture. I've tried the example from handlePivotDrag, but it has one limitation. Using this version, I can move the entity around me as if it were on the inside of an arc or sphere. However, I can no longer move the entity further or closer. It stays within a similar (though not exact) distance relative to me while I drag. Is there a way to combine these concepts? Ideally, I would like to use a gesture that behaves the same way that visionOS windows do. When we drag windows, I can move them around relative to myself, pull them closer, push them further, all while avoiding the issues described above. Example from handleFixedDrag mutating private func handleFixedDrag(value: EntityTargetValue<DragGesture.Value>) { let state = EntityGestureState.shared guard let entity = state.targetedEntity else { fatalError("Gesture contained no entity") } if !state.isDragging { state.isDragging = true state.dragStartPosition = entity.scenePosition } let translation3D = value.convert(value.gestureValue.translation3D, from: .local, to: .scene) let offset = SIMD3<Float>(x: Float(translation3D.x), y: Float(translation3D.y), z: Float(translation3D.z)) entity.scenePosition = state.dragStartPosition + offset if let initialOrientation = state.initialOrientation { state.targetedEntity?.setOrientation(initialOrientation, relativeTo: nil) } } Example from handlePivotDrag mutating private func handlePivotDrag(value: EntityTargetValue<DragGesture.Value>) { let state = EntityGestureState.shared guard let entity = state.targetedEntity else { fatalError("Gesture contained no entity") } // The transform that the pivot will be moved to. var targetPivotTransform = Transform() // Set the target pivot transform depending on the input source. if let inputDevicePose = value.inputDevicePose3D { // If there is an input device pose, use it for positioning and rotating the pivot. targetPivotTransform.scale = .one targetPivotTransform.translation = value.convert(inputDevicePose.position, from: .local, to: .scene) targetPivotTransform.rotation = value.convert(AffineTransform3D(rotation: inputDevicePose.rotation), from: .local, to: .scene).rotation } else { // If there is not an input device pose, use the location of the drag for positioning the pivot. targetPivotTransform.translation = value.convert(value.location3D, from: .local, to: .scene) } if !state.isDragging { // If this drag just started, create the pivot entity. let pivotEntity = Entity() guard let parent = entity.parent else { fatalError("Non-root entity is missing a parent.") } // Add the pivot entity into the scene. parent.addChild(pivotEntity) // Move the pivot entity to the target transform. pivotEntity.move(to: targetPivotTransform, relativeTo: nil) // Add the targeted entity as a child of the pivot without changing the targeted entity's world transform. pivotEntity.addChild(entity, preservingWorldTransform: true) // Store the pivot entity. state.pivotEntity = pivotEntity // Indicate that a drag has started. state.isDragging = true } else { // If this drag is ongoing, move the pivot entity to the target transform. // The animation duration smooths the noise in the target transform across frames. state.pivotEntity?.move(to: targetPivotTransform, relativeTo: nil, duration: 0.2) } if preserveOrientationOnPivotDrag, let initialOrientation = state.initialOrientation { state.targetedEntity?.setOrientation(initialOrientation, relativeTo: nil) } }
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524
Feb ’25
Cursor display issue on attachment view in immersive space
While using Screen Mirroring in developer mode within my immersive space, I noticed an alignment issue with the computer cursor (transparent circle). When I move it toward an attachment view, the cursor remains horizontal instead of aligning with the surface of the attachment view. It shows correctly on a 2D window only wrong on attachment view. Is this behavior a bug, or could it be caused by a missing or incorrect configuration on the attachment view? Want help, thanks.
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94
Apr ’25
Is there any way, I can use the Object Tracking applications on an iOS (iPhone) AR App.
I have been referencing the Object Tracking Tutorial from WWDC 2024 on Vision OS, how Create ML is used to create a reference object, and we can track them in the ARSession. I am looking forward to building this feature on an AR app for iPhone, I am using iPhone 13 Pro Max. I have created couple of reference objects from the Create ML.
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336
Mar ’25
iOS needs to allow for background bluetooth scanning. I can't fully build my app.
iOS currently restricts background Bluetooth advertising and scanning in order to preserve battery life and protect user privacy. While these restrictions serve important purposes, they also limit legitimate use cases where users have explicitly opted in to proximity-based experiences. The core challenge is that modern social applications need a way to detect when users are physically present at the same location or event without requiring every participant to keep their app in the foreground. Under the current system, background BLE advertising is heavily throttled and can only transmit a limited payload, background scanning intervals are sparse and unpredictable, peer-to-peer proximity detection cannot be maintained reliably when apps are in the background, and Background App Refresh is non-deterministic, making any kind of time-based proximity validation impossible. A proposed enhancement would be to introduce an “Enhanced Proximity Permission.” This would allow developers to enable reliable background BLE advertising and scanning for declared time windows, such as a maximum of eight hours. It would also allow devices running the same app to detect each other’s proximity using ephemeral, rotating identifiers that preserve privacy, with clear user consent and prominent indicators whenever the feature is active. Unlocking this capability would open up new categories of applications. Live events could offer automatic attendance tracking at concerts, conferences, or sports venues. Retail environments could support opt-in foot traffic analysis and dwell-time insights. Social apps could allow users to find friends at festivals, campuses, or other large venues. Safety applications could extend to crowd density monitoring and contact tracing beyond COVID-era needs. Gaming could offer real-world multiplayer experiences based on physical proximity, and transportation providers could verify rideshare pickups or measure public transit flows automatically. Privacy safeguards would remain central. Permissions would be time-boxed and expire after an event or session. A mandatory visual indicator would be displayed whenever proximity tracking is active. A user-facing dashboard would show all apps granted enhanced proximity access. Permissions would automatically be revoked after a period of non-use, and only ephemeral tokens not permanent identifiers would be broadcast. The industry impact would be significant. With this enhancement, iOS could power the next generation of location-aware social platforms while maintaining Apple’s leadership in privacy through explicit user control and transparency. Current alternatives, such as requiring users to keep apps in the foreground or deploying dedicated hardware beacons, produce poor user experiences and constrain innovation in spatial computing and social applications. Can anyone from Apple consider this change? Having to buy iBeacons is brutal and means slower adoption. Please reconsider this for users who opt in.
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1.1k
Sep ’25
[visionOS] How to render side-by-side stereo video?
I want to render a 3d/stereoscopic video in an Apple Vision Pro window using RealityKit/RealityView. The video is a left-right stereo. The straight forward approach would be to spawn a quad, and give it a custom Shader Graph material, which has a CameraIndexSwitch. The CameraIndexSwitch chooses between the right texture vs the left texture. https://i.sstatic.net/XawqjNcg.png The issue I have here is that I have to extract the video frames from my AVSampleBufferVideoRenderer. This should work ok, but not if I'm playing FairPlay content. So, my question is, how to render stereo FairPlay videos in a SwiftUI RealityView?
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698
Aug ’25