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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Human Body joint tracking in VisionOS
The goal is to achieve precise joint tracking for clinical assessment. The Doctor is wearing the AVP and observing the Patients movement. Do you have any recommended best practices for integrating real-time joint tracking and displaying them on the patient within visionOS? We attempted to use VNHumanBodyPose3DObservation, which theoretically should work, but we are unable to display the detected joints in an Immersive Space for real-time validation. This makes it difficult for the doctor to ensure accurate tracking and if possible a photo or video of the Range of Motion assessment would be needed for the patient record. Are there alternative methods to achieve precise real-time joint tracking without requiring main camera access (com.apple.developer.arkit.main-camera-access.allow)?
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Mar ’25
Perspective problem
Hi, I called it "perspective problem", but I'm not quite sure what it is. I have a tag that I track with builtin camera. I calculate its pose, then use extrinsics and device anchor to calculate where to place entity with model. When I place an entity that overlaps with physical object and start to look at it from different angles, the virtual object begins to move. Initially I thought that it's something wrong with calculations, or some image distortion closer to camera edges is affecting tag detection. To check, I calculated the position only once and displayed entity there, the physical tracked object is not moving. Now, when I move my head, so the object is more to the left, or right in my field of view, the virtual object becomes misaligned to the left, or right. It feels like a parallax effect, but distance from me to entity and to physical object are exactly the same. Is that expected, because of some passthrough correction magic? And if so, can I somehow correct it back, so the entity always overlaps with object? I'm currently on v26 beta 5. I also don't quite understand the camera extrinsics, because it seems that I need to flip it around X by 180 degrees to make it work in deviceAnchor * extrinsics.inverse * tag (shouldn't it be in same coordinates as all other RealityKit things?).
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Aug ’25
Difference in ARKit plane detection from iPhone 8 to iPhone 15
I am developing an ARKit based application that requires plane detection of the tabletop at which the user is seated. Early testing was with an iPhone 8 and iPhone 8+. With those devices, ARKit rapidly detected the plane of the tabletop when it was only 8 to 10 inches away. Using iPhone 15 with the same code, it seems to require me to move the phone more like 15 to 16 inches away before detecting the plane of the table. This is an awkward motion for a user seated at a table. To validate that it was not necessarily a feature of my code, I determined that the same behavior results with Apple's sample AR Interaction application. Has anyone else experienced this, and if so, have suggestions to improve the situation?
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Feb ’25
The folding and unfolding effect of the NBA sand table
Seeing this magical sand table, the unfolding and folding effects are similar to spreading out cards, which is very interesting. But I don't know how to achieve it. I want to see if there are any ways to achieve this effect and give some ideas. May I ask if this effect can be achieved under the existing API
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May ’25
RCP Scene issues at runtime (visionOS 26 / Xcode 26 Beta 4)
I have a scene that has been assembled in RCP but I'm losing the correct hierarchy and transforms when running the scene in the headset or the simulator. This is in RCP: This is at runtime with the debugger: As you can see the "MAIN_WAGON" entity is gone and part of the hierarchy are now children of "TRAIN_ROOT" instead. Another issue is that not only part of the hieararchy disappears, it also reverts back to default values of the transform instead of what is set in RCP: This is in RCP: This is in the simulator/headset: I'm filing a feedback ticket too and will post the number here. Anyone had a similar issue and found a fix or workaround ?
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Aug ’25
spatial-backdrop feature available yet?
In WWDC25 session What’s new for the spatial web, the presenter showed creating an immersive environment for a web page by adding to the page's HEAD section <link rel="spatial-backdrop" href="office.usdz" environmentmap="lighting.hdr"> My first attempt failed, and I am trying to track down why. Before I search all the potential failure paths, I wanted to ask the community, Is this feature available in the latest visionOS 26 beta? I haven't seen anyone talk about their use of the feature yet.
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Aug ’25
How to make a RealityKit `Entity` respond to Environment light
I am developing an visionos app. I load a .usdz file as a Reality Entity(such as a cabbage). And I want such an effect: When I turn on a desk lamp in real world near the Entity, the surface of the Entity will correctly respond to the light in the real world. I want an effect like this: https://www.reddit.com/r/virtualreality/comments/1as01mm/shiny_disco_ball_reflecting_my_room/ I look up the api such as ImageBasedLightComponent andVirtualEnvironmentProbeComponent in RealityKit、EnvironmentLightEstimationProvider in ARKit,but I do not know how to code. Besides, it will be better if the shadow will also respond to the light correctly.
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532
Feb ’25
Transparent Material Turning into Occlusion Material
I am trying to create an object in immersive space that is partially transparent (~50% opacity). I have implemented this in a few different ways including creating a model entity and setting its opacity component to 0.5, and creating a custom material with blending set to a transparent opacity of 0.5. These both work partially, as they behaved as intended for many cases, but seemingly randomly would act like occlusion material and block any other immersive content behind them, showing the real world instead. Some notes: I am using RealityKit to render the semi-transparent object and an opaque object that is behind the semi-transparent object. I am using VisionOS 2.1, and am updating the location of the semi-transparent object often. Both objects are ModelEntities. I would appreciate any guidance on how to implement this. Please let me know if there are any other questions.
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May ’25
How To Move Camera with PS5 Game Controller
Hello again! So, I am trying my best to figure out how to get a simple, fully Immersive scene that is navigable via the PS5 controller to work on Vision Pro. I am even using ChatGPT (both externally AND in Xcode when it makes fix recommendations) however, I seem to be moving around in circles, having to constantly send error messages back to ChatGPT, then try the new "confirmed to work" fixed code, only to have more errors. I also have explicitly let the AI know that I'm using all the current betas, only to learn there has been lots of stuff deprecated (of course!). This is my initial query to ChatGPT: "How can I create a fully immersive VR experience for Apple Vision Pro, using a PS5 game controller to navigate the user via first person view through a 3d scene?" And then down the rabbit hole the past few days. Seriously, I thought AI was supposed to be helpful! LOL Per Xcode logs, I'm seeing thumbstick movement, but simply cannot get the camera to move. Is this even possible?! Is it a camera defined in Reality Composer Pro? Or, does it need to be defined outside. I'm trying to follow along with the AI, but it seems to go back and forth with different solutions. Here is the latest it's spitting out: __ Thanks for this super clear log — and you’re absolutely right: the gamepad input is working, CameraRoot is moving as expected… but your actual camera view is not changing. This strongly suggests the issue is that RealityKit is not using your custom camera (PerspectiveCameraComponent) for rendering the view. ⸻ 🔍 What’s happening Even though CameraRoot is moving (with correct logs), RealityKit will default to its own internal camera unless: 1. You explicitly assign your camera entity to be the one used, or 2. Your camera is the only one and RealityKit picks it up automatically. But in visionOS 2.0 / Xcode 26, there seems to be a bug or behavior change where RealityKit no longer auto-uses your custom PerspectiveCameraComponent in RealityView unless it’s: • properly set with content.camera, or • part of a .usda/Reality Composer camera hierarchy that’s already active. Unfortunately: 🟥 RealityView.camera = .entity(cameraRoot) ❌ Is no longer allowed (we confirmed this breaks with a type error) ⸻ ✅ The Reliable Workaround: Attach your camera to the Immersive scene itself Since we’re loading a .usda scene (Reality Composer Pro), here’s the most reliable path forward: ✔️ Option A: Embed your camera into the Reality Composer Pro scene 1. Open your Reality Composer Pro scene 2. Add a Camera entity directly in your Immersive.usda scene 3. Name it something like "PlayerCamera" 4. Position it at [0, 1.6, 0] 5. Leave it selected as the default camera Then in your Swift code: • Find the camera entity with .findEntity(named:) • Move that entity instead of creating a new one. ⸻ ✔️ Option B: Force RealityKit to use your custom camera (via transform parenting) Since direct camera assignment is unavailable, we can use a trick: Move the whole RealityView scene via a parent entity with a camera. But let’s go with Option A, since you’ve already got a Reality Composer Pro scene. __ Can any developer over there can make a suggestion on how to move forward? I JUST want to create a sandbox template so I can start exploring 3d scenes created in Maya and sent over to headset. I'll deal with animation next, but come on, why is this so difficult to get working? I'm not a programmer, but have been trying to wrap my head around Xcode and SwiftUI. This needs to be much simpler. Or, you need to provide us creatives with better sample templates and non programmer speak on how to set this up properly. Ideally, you HIRE us 3d professionals to work side by side with the programmers to help make these tools useable - especially Reality Composer Pro. Seriously, I am making a concerted effort to use the native tools, even though I would love to be porting Unreal Engine scenes over. If anyone can help point me in the right direction, coming from a 3D Creator/Animator/Modeler perspective, I, and my fellow peers in the XR/AR/VR community would greatly appreciate it. Thank you.
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Jul ’25
Collision Detection Fails After Anchoring ModelEntity to Hand in VisionOS
I'm starting my journey in developing an immersive app for VisionOS. I've been making steady progress, but I've encountered a specific challenge that I haven't been able to resolve. I created two ModelEntity objects — a sphere and a cube — and added a DragGesture to the cube. When I drag the cube over the sphere, the two collide correctly, and the collision is logged in the console. So far, everything works as expected. However, when I try to anchor the cube to my hand, the collision stops working. It's as if the cube loses its ability to detect collisions once it's anchored. Any guidance or clarification on this behavior would be greatly appreciated. //  ImmersiveView.swift //  estudos_vision // //  Created by Lailan Rogerio Rodrigues Matos on 15/05/25. // import SwiftUI import RealityKit import RealityKitContent struct ImmersiveView: View { @Environment(AppModel.self) var appModel @State private var session: SpatialTrackingSession? @State private var box = ModelEntity() @State private var subs: [EventSubscription] = [] @State private var ballEntity: Entity? var body: some View { RealityView { content in // Load initial content from the RealityKit scene. if let immersiveContentEntity = try? await Entity(named: "Immersive", in: realityKitContentBundle) { content.add(immersiveContentEntity) } // Create and run a spatial tracking session. let session = SpatialTrackingSession() let configuration = SpatialTrackingSession.Configuration(tracking: [.hand]) _ = await session.run(configuration) self.session = session // Create a red box. let boxMesh = MeshResource.generateBox(size: 0.2) let material = SimpleMaterial(color: .red, isMetallic: false) box = ModelEntity(mesh: boxMesh, materials: [material]) box.position.y += 0.15 // Position the box slightly above the origin. // Configure the box for user interaction and physics. box.components.set(InputTargetComponent(allowedInputTypes: .indirect)) // Make it interactive. box.generateCollisionShapes(recursive: false) // Generate collision shapes for physics. box.components.set(PhysicsBodyComponent( // Add physics behavior. massProperties: .default, material: .default, mode: .kinematic // Use kinematic mode so it can be moved by user interaction. )) box.components.set(GroundingShadowComponent(castsShadow: true)) // Add a shadow. //content.add(box) //commented out to add to hand anchor // Create a left hand anchor and add the box as a child. let handAnchor = AnchorEntity(.hand(.left, location: .palm), trackingMode: .continuous) handAnchor.addChild(box) content.add(handAnchor) // Add the hand anchor to the scene. // Create a sphere. let ball = ModelEntity(mesh: .generateSphere(radius: 0.15)) ball.position = [0.0, 1.5, -1.0] // Initial position of the ball. ball.generateCollisionShapes(recursive: false) // Add collision. ball.name = "Sphere" content.add(ball) ballEntity = ball // Subscribe to collision events between the box and other entities. let event = content.subscribe(to: CollisionEvents.Began.self, on: box) { ce in print("Collision between \(ce.entityA.name) and \(ce.entityB.name) occurred") //ce.entityA.removeFromParent() // removes the colliding object //ce.entityB.removeFromParent() } Task { subs.append(event) } } // Add a drag gesture to the box, allowing the user to move it. .gesture( DragGesture() .targetedToEntity(box) // Target the drag gesture to the box. .onChanged({ value in // Update the position of the box based on the drag gesture. box.position = value.convert(value.location3D, from: .local, to: box.parent!) }) ) } } #Preview(immersionStyle: .full) { ImmersiveView() .environment(AppModel()) }
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May ’25
VisionOS26 PresentationComponent not working
I am trying to get the new PresentationComponent working in VisionOS26 as seen in this WWDC video: https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2025/274/?time=962 (18:29 minutes into video) Here is some other example code but it doesn't work either: https://stepinto.vision/devlogs/project-graveyard-devlog-002/ My simple Text view (that I am adding as a PresentationComponent) does not appear in my RealityView even though the entity is found. Here is a simple example built from an Xcode immersive view default project: struct ImmersiveView: View { @Environment(AppModel.self) var appModel var body: some View { RealityView { content in // Add the initial RealityKit content if let immersiveContentEntity = try? await Entity(named: "Immersive", in: realityKitContentBundle) { content.add(immersiveContentEntity) if let materializedImmersiveContentEntity = try? await Entity(named: "Test", in: realityKitContentBundle) { content.add(materializedImmersiveContentEntity) var presentation = PresentationComponent( configuration: .popover(arrowEdge: .bottom), content: Text("Hello, World!") .foregroundColor(.red) ) presentation.isPresented = true materializedImmersiveContentEntity.components.set(presentation) } } } } } Here is the Apple reference: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/realitykit/presentationcomponent
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Jul ’25
Portal crossing causes inconsistent lighting and visual artifacts between virtual and real spaces (visionOS 2.0)
Hello, I'm working with the new PortalComponent introduced in visionOS 2.0, and I've encountered some issues when transitioning entities between virtual and real-world spaces using crossingMode. Specifically: Lighting inconsistency: When CG content (ModelEntities with PhysicallyBasedMaterial) crosses the portal from virtual space into the real environment, the way light reflects on the objects changes noticeably. This causes a jarring visual effect, as the same material appears differently depending on the space it's in. Unnatural transition visuals: During the transition, the CG models often appear to "emerge from the wall," especially when crossing from virtual to real. This ruins the immersive illusion and feels visually unnatural. IBL adjustment attempts: I’ve tried adding an ImageBasedLightComponent to the world entity, and while it slightly improves the lighting consistency, the issue still remains to a noticeable degree. My goal is to create a seamless visual experience when CG entities cross between spaces, without sudden lighting shifts or immersion-breaking geometry reveals. Has anyone else experienced similar issues? Is there a recommended setup or workaround to better control lighting and visual fidelity when using crossingMode with portals in visionOS 2.0? Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
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Jul ’25
Look to Scroll
Hello! I’m excited to see that Look to Scroll has been included in visionOS 26 Beta. I’m aiming to achieve a feature where the user’s gaze at a specific edge automatically scrolls to that position. However, I’ve experimented with ScrollView and haven’t been able to trigger this functionality. Could you advise if additional API modifiers are necessary? Thank you!
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Jul ’25
Eye tracking data access for researchers in the medical field
Hello, esteemed tech developer. I am using the Apple Vision Pro to create an AR assist system about the da Vinci Surgical Robot in a medical surgical suite, and would like to capture eye movement data with tester uniformity. Although the Apple Vision Pro has a superb infrared sensor to monitor eye movement status, Apple does not seem to have open access officially. (I'm aware of many existing discussions about this, but I was still wondering if there might be an option, particularly for research labs.)Here's my FB number.FB16603687
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Feb ’25