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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Accessing pupil diameter in visionOS
Previously I had developed software using SMI eye trackers, both screen mounted and their mobile glasses, for unique therapeutic and physiology applications. Sadly, after SMI was bought by Apple, their hardware and software have been taken off the market and now it is very difficult to get secondhand-market systems. The Apple Vision Pro integrates the SMI hardware. While I can use ARKit to get gaze position, I do not see a way to access information that was previously made accessible on the SMI hardware, particularly: dwell time and pupil diameter information. I am hopeful (or asking) to see that if a user has a properly set up Optic ID and would opt-in if, either on the present or a future version of visionOS, it might be possible to get access to the data streams for dwell times and pupil diameter. Pupil diameter is particularly important as it is a very good physiological measure of how much stress a person is encountering, which is critical to some of the therapeutic applications that formerly we used SMI hardware. Any ideas, or, if this is not possible, proposing this to the visionOS team would be appreciated!
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Jul ’25
How to use defaultSize with visionOS window restoration?
One of the most common ways to provide a window size in visionOS is to use the defaultSize scene modifier. WindowGroup(id: "someID") { SomeView() } .defaultSize(CGSize(width: 600, height: 600)) Starting in visionOS 26, using this has a side effect. visionOS 26 will restore windows that have been locked in place or snapped to surfaces. If a user has manually adjusted the size of a locked/snapped window, the users size is only restore in some cases. Manual resize respected Leaving a room and returning later Taking the headset off and putting it back on later Manual resize NOT respected Device restart. In this case, the window is reopened where it was locked, but the size is set back to the values passed to defaultSize. The manual resizing adjustments the user has made are lost. This is counter to how all other windows and widgets work. I reported this last month (FB18429638), but haven't heard back if this is a bug or intended behavior. Questions What is the best way to provide a default window size that will only be used when opening new windows–and not used during scene restoration? Should we try to keep track of window size after users adjust them and save that somewhere? If this is intended behavior, can someone please update the docs accordingly?
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Jul ’25
Entity HoverEffect Fired When inside Another Entity Collider
Hi folks, I’m new to Vision Pro stack, still trying to learn all the nuances. Here is a problem I can’t seem to find an answer. I placed entity A( a small .02 radius sphere) inside entity B( size:.1 box). Both entities have HoverEffectComponent, and both inputcomponent is set to .direct. Entity A is NOT a child of Entity B. When I direct touch Entity B, I noticed that Entity A’s hover effect is fired as well. This only happens if Entity A‘s position is inside Entity B. The gesture that is only targeted at Entity A doesn’t work either. I double checked Entity A collider which sits inside entity B collider, my direct touch shouldn’t have trigger its hove effect. Having one collider inside another seems to produce unpredictable behavior? Thanks in advance 🙏🙏🙏 Context: I’m trying to create an invisible bound around Entity A, so when my hand approaches the bound to grab Entity A, a nice spotlight hover effect would fire first on the bound before hand reaching entity A.
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Feb ’25
ECS and array of gestures
Hi, I am creating an ECS. With this ECS I will need to register several DragGesture. Question: Is it possible to define DragGestures in ECS? If yes, how do we do that? If not, what is the best way to do that? Question: Is there a "gesture" method that takes an array of gestures as a parameter? I am interested in any information that can help me, if possible with an example of code. Regards Tof
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Feb ’25
Alternatives to SceneView
Hey there, since SceneView has been marked as „deprecated“ for SwiftUI, I‘m wondering which alternatives should be considered for the following situation: I have a SwiftUI app (for iOS and iPadOS) where users can view (with rotate, scale, move gestures) 3D models (USDZ) in a scene. The models will be downloaded from web backend and called via local URL paths. What I tested: I‘ve tried ARView in .nonAR mode, RealityView, however I didn‘t get the expected response -> User can rotate, scale the 3D models in a virtual space. ARView in nonAR mode still shows the object like in normal AR mode without camera stream. I tried to add Gestures to the RealityView on iOS - loading USDZ 3D models worked but the gestures didn’t). Model3D is only available for visionOS (that would be amazing to have it for iOS) I also checked QuickLook Preview however it works pretty strange via Filepicker etc, which is not the way how the user should load the 3D models in my app. Maybe I missed something, I couldn’t find anything which can help me. I‘m pretty much stucked adopting the latest and greatest frameworks/APIs in my App and taking the next steps porting my app to visionOS. Long story short 😃: Does someone have an idea what is the alternative to SceneView for USDZ 3D models? I appreciate your support!! Thanks in advance!
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Jul ’25
Person Occlusion on the Vision Pro
I am currently creating an app where two people share an instance of an immersive space so that they are able to point to certain things in the immersive space. Right now, other people are hidden behind the immersive space, and even with people awareness enabled for everything, people are still too difficult to see. I've found this documentation (https://developer.apple.com/documentation/arkit/occluding-virtual-content-with-people) which describes what I want to do, but it is only listed as working on iOS an iPadOS. Is there anything similar to this that will work on VisionOS?
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Mar ’25
Index out of range crash: internal framework
Hi there, I'm developing a visionOS app that is using the anchor points and mesh from SceneReconstructionProvider anchor updates. I load an ImmersiveSpace using a RealityView and apply a ShaderGraphMaterial (from a Shader Graph in Reality Composer Pro) to the mesh and use calls to setParameter to dynamically update the material on very rapid frequency. The mesh is locked (no more updates) before the calls to setParameter. This process works for a few minutes but then eventually I get the following error in the console: assertion failure: Index out of range (operator[]:line 789) index = 13662, max = 1 With the following stack trace: Thread 1 Queue : com.apple.main-thread (serial) #0 0x00000002880f90d0 in __abort_with_payload () #1 0x000000028812a6dc in abort_with_payload_wrapper_internal () #2 0x000000028812a710 in abort_with_payload () #3 0x0000000288003f40 in _os_crash_msg () #4 0x00000001dc9ff624 in re::ecs2::ComponentBucketsBase::addComponent () #5 0x00000001dc9ffadc in re::ecs2::ComponentBucketsBase::moveComponent () #6 0x00000001dc8b0278 in re::ecs2::MaterialParameterBlockArrayComponentStateImpl::processPreparingComponents () #7 0x00000001dc8b05e4 in re::ecs2::MaterialParameterBlockArraySystem::update () #8 0x00000001dd008744 in re::Scheduler::executePhase () #9 0x00000001dc032ec4 in re::Engine::executePhase () #10 0x0000000248121898 in RCPSharedSimulationExecuteUpdate () #11 0x00000002264e488c in __59-[MRUISharedSimulation _doJoinWithConnectionContext:error:]_block_invoke.44 () #12 0x0000000268c5fe9c in _UIUpdateSequenceRunNext () #13 0x00000002696ea540 in schedulerStepScheduledMainSectionContinue () #14 0x000000026af8d284 in UC::DriverCore::continueProcessing () #15 0x00000001a1bd4e6c in CFRUNLOOP_IS_CALLING_OUT_TO_A_SOURCE0_PERFORM_FUNCTION () #16 0x00000001a1bd4db0 in __CFRunLoopDoSource0 () #17 0x00000001a1bd44f0 in __CFRunLoopDoSources0 () #18 0x00000001a1bd3640 in __CFRunLoopRun () #19 0x00000001a1bce284 in _CFRunLoopRunSpecificWithOptions () #20 0x00000001eff12d2c in GSEventRunModal () #21 0x00000002697de878 in -[UIApplication _run] () #22 0x00000002697e33c0 in UIApplicationMain () #23 0x00000001b56651e4 in closure #1 (Swift.UnsafeMutablePointer<Swift.Optional<Swift.UnsafeMutablePointer<Swift.Int8>>>) -> Swift.Never in SwiftUI.KitRendererCommon(Swift.AnyObject.Type) -> Swift.Never () #24 0x00000001b5664f08 in SwiftUI.runApp<τ_0_0 where τ_0_0: SwiftUI.App>(τ_0_0) -> Swift.Never () #25 0x00000001b53ad570 in static SwiftUI.App.main() -> () () #26 0x0000000101bc7b9c in static MetalRendererApp.$main() () #27 0x0000000101bc7bdc in main () #28 0x0000000197fd0284 in start () Any advice on how to solve this or prevent the error? Thanks!
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331
Jul ’25
A question about adding grounding shadow in visionPro
I want adding grounding shadow on my Entity in RealityView on visionPro. However it seems that the shadow can only appear on another Entity. So I using plane detection in ARKit and add a transparent plane on it to render shadow. let planeEntity = ModelEntity(mesh: .generatePlane(width: anchor.geometry.extent.width, height: anchor.geometry.extent.height), materials: [material]) planeEntity.components.set(OpacityComponent(opacity: 0.0)) But sometimes there will be a border around my Entityon the plane. I do not know why it will happen, and I want remove the border.
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Mar ’25
CameraFrameProvider distortion correction
Hi, I'm trying to correct the lens distortion in frames provided by Enterprise API camera frame provider. The frames provided seem to have only in/extrinsics info, but not the distortion lookup table. Is there some magic setting, or function to do that (I can't seem to find anything like this)? Or is there a way to use AVCameraCalibrationData together with provider?
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Mar ’25
CompositorServices Or RealityKit
I have been concentrating on developing the visionOS application. While I am currently quite familiar with RealityKit, CompositorServices has also captured my attention. I have not yet acquired knowledge of CompositorServices. Could you please clarify whether it is essential for me to learn CompositorServices? Additionally, I would appreciate it if you could provide insights into the advantages of RealityKit and CompositorServices.
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Mar ’25
SpatialEventGesture Not Working to Show Hidden Menu in Immersive Panorama View - visionOS
SpatialEventGesture Not Working to Show Hidden Menu in Immersive Panorama View - visionOS Problem Description I'm developing a Vision Pro app that displays 360° panoramic photos in a full immersive space. I have a floating menu that auto-hides after 5 seconds, and I want users to be able to show the menu again using spatial gestures (particularly pinch gestures) when it's hidden. However, the SpatialEventGesture implementation is not working as expected. The menu doesn't appear when users perform pinch gestures or other spatial interactions in the immersive space. Current Implementation Here's the relevant gesture detection code in my ImmersiveView: import SwiftUI import RealityKit struct ImmersiveView: View { @EnvironmentObject var appModel: AppModel @Environment(\.openWindow) private var openWindow var body: some View { RealityView { content in // RealityView content setup with panoramic sphere... let rootEntity = Entity() content.add(rootEntity) // Load panoramic content here... } // Using SpatialEventGesture to handle multiple spatial gestures .gesture( SpatialEventGesture() .onEnded { eventCollection in // Check menu visibility state if !appModel.isPanoramaMenuVisible { // Iterate through event collection to handle various gestures for event in eventCollection { switch event.kind { case .touch: print("Detected spatial touch gesture, showing menu") showMenuWithGesture() return case .indirectPinch: print("Detected spatial pinch gesture, showing menu") showMenuWithGesture() return case .pointer: print("Detected spatial pointer gesture, showing menu") showMenuWithGesture() return @unknown default: print("Detected unknown spatial gesture: \(event.kind)") showMenuWithGesture() return } } } } ) // Keep long press gesture as backup .simultaneousGesture( LongPressGesture(minimumDuration: 1.5) .onEnded { _ in if !appModel.isPanoramaMenuVisible { print("Detected long press gesture, showing menu") showMenuWithGesture() } } ) } private func showMenuWithGesture() { if !appModel.isPanoramaMenuVisible { appModel.showPanoramaMenu() if !appModel.windowExists(id: "PanoramaMenu") { openWindow(id: "PanoramaMenu", value: "menu") } } } } What I've Tried Multiple SpatialTapGesture approaches: Originally tried using multiple .gesture() modifiers with SpatialTapGesture(count: 1) and SpatialTapGesture(count: 2), but realized they override each other. SpatialEventGesture implementation: Switched to SpatialEventGesture to handle multiple event types (.touch, .indirectPinch, .pointer), but pinch gestures still don't trigger the menu. Added debugging: Console logs show that the gesture callbacks are never called when performing pinch gestures in the immersive space. Backup LongPressGesture: Added a simultaneous long press gesture as backup, which also doesn't work consistently. Expected Behavior When the panorama menu is hidden (after 5-second auto-hide), users should be able to: Perform a pinch gesture (indirect pinch) to show the menu Tap in space to show the menu Use other spatial gestures to show the menu Questions Is SpatialEventGesture the correct approach for detecting gestures in a full immersive RealityView? Are there any special considerations for gesture detection when the RealityView contains a large panoramic sphere that might be intercepting gestures? Should I be using a different gesture approach for visionOS immersive spaces? Is there a way to ensure gestures work even when the RealityView content (panoramic sphere) might be blocking them? Environment Xcode 16.1 visionOS 2.5 Testing on Vision Pro device App uses SwiftUI + RealityKit Any guidance on the proper way to implement spatial gesture detection in visionOS immersive spaces would be greatly appreciated! Additional Context The app manages multiple windows and the gesture detection should work specifically when in the immersive panorama mode with the menu hidden. Thank you for any help or suggestions!
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Jun ’25
Creating spatial video with one camera
Hello everyone I would like to create my own spatial video on my Apple Vision Pro. According to all the documentation from Apple, this requires two camera angles that enhance the spatial perception. I have purchased the Enterprise license with main camera access for this purpose. However, this only gives me access to the left main camera of the glasses. Is there a way to access the right camera as well? Or is the one camera image enough to create a spatial video by splitting the image, for example? I am open to any help and ideas. My goal is to create the video with the cameras on the glasses, not externally.
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Jun ’25
Imitating a grip on an object
I'm playing about with the hand tracking systems in reality kit / Vision Pro I thought it would be interesting if I could attach a virtual object to a hand when the hand is gripping (thought it would be fun to attach a basic cylinder to mimic a wand from Harry Potter) I'm able to detect when the user is gripping but having trouble placing an object as though it's within the hand. The simplest version of this is using an AnchorEntity pointing to the user's palm which kind of works, but quickly breaks the illusion when you rotate the wrist or hand. It seems as though I will have to roll my own anchor entity using the various points of the user's hand and I thought calculating some median point between the thumb and little finger tips would be a good start but it's proven a little difficult as we need both rotation and position. I'm already out of my depth with reality kit and matrices (and thanks to ChatGPT) I have some code, but as soon as I apply the position manually (as opposed to a hand anchor entity) it fails to render on the user's hand. It feels like this should already have been something someone has looked in to, any ideas on what might be the issue here? Note: HandTrackingSystem.handTracking is a HandTrackingProvider() guard let anchors = HandTrackingSystem.handTracking.latestAnchors.leftHand else { return } if let thumb = anchors.handSkeleton?.joint(.thumbTip), let little = anchors.handSkeleton?.joint(.littleFingerTip) { let thumbPos = simd_make_float3(thumb.anchorFromJointTransform.columns.3) let littlePos = simd_make_float3(little.anchorFromJointTransform.columns.3) let midPos = (thumbPos + littlePos) / 2 let direction = normalize(littlePos - thumbPos) let rotation = simd_quatf(from: [0, 1, 0], to: direction) wandEntity.transform.translation = midPos wandEntity.transform.rotation = rotation content.add(wandEntity) }
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Jul ’25
Projecting a Cube with a Number in ARKit
I'm a novice in RealityKit and ARKit. I'm using ARKit in SwiftUI to show a cube with a number as shown below. import SwiftUI import RealityKit import ARKit struct ContentView : View { var body: some View { return ARViewContainer() } } #Preview { ContentView() } struct ARViewContainer: UIViewRepresentable { typealias UIViewType = ARView func makeUIView(context: UIViewRepresentableContext<ARViewContainer>) -> ARView { let arView = ARView(frame: .zero, cameraMode: .ar, automaticallyConfigureSession: true) arView.enableTapGesture() return arView } func updateUIView(_ uiView: ARView, context: UIViewRepresentableContext<ARViewContainer>) { } } extension ARView { func enableTapGesture() { let tapGestureRecognizer = UITapGestureRecognizer(target: self, action: #selector(handleTap(recognizer:))) self.addGestureRecognizer(tapGestureRecognizer) } @objc func handleTap(recognizer: UITapGestureRecognizer) { let tapLocation = recognizer.location(in: self) // print("Tap location: \(tapLocation)") guard let rayResult = self.ray(through: tapLocation) else { return } let results = self.raycast(from: tapLocation, allowing: .estimatedPlane, alignment: .any) if let firstResult = results.first { let position = simd_make_float3(firstResult.worldTransform.columns.3) placeObject(at: position) } } func placeObject(at position: SIMD3<Float>) { let mesh = MeshResource.generateBox(size: 0.3) let material = SimpleMaterial(color: UIColor.systemRed, roughness: 0.3, isMetallic: true) let modelEntity = ModelEntity(mesh: mesh, materials: [material]) var unlitMaterial = UnlitMaterial() if let textureResource = generateTextResource(text: "1", textColor: UIColor.white) { unlitMaterial.color = .init(tint: .white, texture: .init(textureResource)) modelEntity.model?.materials = [unlitMaterial] let id = UUID().uuidString modelEntity.name = id modelEntity.transform.scale = [0.3, 0.1, 0.3] modelEntity.generateCollisionShapes(recursive: true) let anchorEntity = AnchorEntity(world: position) anchorEntity.addChild(modelEntity) self.scene.addAnchor(anchorEntity) } } func generateTextResource(text: String, textColor: UIColor) -> TextureResource? { if let image = text.image(withAttributes: [NSAttributedString.Key.foregroundColor: textColor], size: CGSize(width: 18, height: 18)), let cgImage = image.cgImage { let textureResource = try? TextureResource(image: cgImage, options: TextureResource.CreateOptions.init(semantic: nil)) return textureResource } return nil } } I tap the floor and get a cube with '1' as shown below. The background color of the cube is black, I guess. Where does this color come from and how can I change it into, say, red? Thanks.
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Jul ’25
Create Anchor on Objects from 2D Data
We're developing a VisionOS application, where we would like to do product recognition (like food items). We have enterprise entitlements and therefore also main camera access for VisionOS. We send this live camera frames to a trained CoreML model where we will receive 2D coordinates from the model detection prediction. Now, we would like to create a 3D anchor on the detected items so it can be visible for user. The 3D anchor is going to be the class name of the detected item. How do we transform this 2D coordinate from the model prediction to a 3D anchor?
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783
Feb ’25