Integrate iOS device camera and motion features to produce augmented reality experiences in your app or game using ARKit.

ARKit Documentation

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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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511
Feb ’25
how to convert mlmodel to reference object?
Hello, I have downloaded and run the sample object tracking app for visionos. Now I'm working on my own objects for tracking. I have made a model using Create ML using images of my object. However, I cannot see how to convert the Create ML output file (xxx.mlmodel) into a reference object like the files in the sample project. is there a tool for converting them? TIA
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354
Feb ’25
When to use an AnchorEntity or HandTrackingProvider in VisionOS
As I understand it there are two ways I can track a hand, or a joint, in RealityKit: either, create an AnchorEntity, for example AnchorEntity(.hand(.left, location: .palm)) or, set up an ARSession with a HandTrackingProvider ( a lot more code which I haven't repeated here). Assuming this is correct, when would I want to use one over the other?
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421
Mar ’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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134
Mar ’25
Using vision pro to detect distance to real life objects
Is it possible to detect distance from the vision pro to real live objects and people? I tried using scene.raycast to perform a raycast forward from the center of the viewport, but it doesn't seem to react to real life objects, only entities. I see mentioned here: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/776807?answerId=829576022#829576022, that a raycast with scene reconstruction should allow me to measure that distance, as long as the object is non-moving. How could I accomplish that?
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176
Apr ’25
Apply mesh to real world people.
As far as I know, Apple hasn’t opened access to the Vision Pro camera for developers yet, so I’m trying to find possible workarounds within the current capabilities. I’m wondering if there’s any way to apply a mesh to a person in the scene in Vision Pro, or if there’s an alternative approach to roughly detect a human shape in front of the user?
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107
Apr ’25
Partial Occlusion Material
I am looking for a material that functions in the same way that Occlusion Material does, except that it only partially occludes whatever is behind it. One way that I have thought of doing this was to change the opacity of the entity that was covered in Occlusion Material, however this did not change anything. Please let me know if this is possible.
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Apr ’25
RealityKit System update and timing
Hi, I'm playing now with hand tracking. I want to get position of hand inside a system update function. I was not sure if transform I'm getting from hand attached AnchorEntity (with trackingMode: .predicted) would give same results as handAnchors(at:) from hand tracking provider, so I started to read them both and compare. For handAnchors i tried using context.scene.timebase.sourceTimebase!.sourceClock!.time.seconds and CACurrentMediaTime() as timestamp source. They seem to use exactly same clock, so that doesn't matter, but: for some reason update handler is always called twice with same context.deltaTime, but first time the query finds 0 entities, second time it finds them all. The query is the standard EntityQuery(where: .has(MyComponent.self)) and in update (matching: Self.query, updatingSystemWhen: .rendering). Here's part of logs: System update called, entity count: 0, dt: 0.01000458374619484, absTime: 4654.222593541 System update called, entity count: 11, dt: 0.01000458374619484, absTime: 4654.22262525 System update called, entity count: 0, dt: 0.009999999776482582, absTime: 4654.249390875 System update called, entity count: 11, dt: 0.009999999776482582, absTime: 4654.249425 accounting for the double update calling I started to calculate time delta of absolute time between calls and they're most of the time much bigger, or much smaller than advertised by system's context.deltaTime, only sometimes they kind of match, for example: system: (dt: 0.01000458374619484) scene : (dt: 0.021419291667371) (absTime: 4654.222628125001) and the very next call system: (dt: 0.010009 166784584522) scene : (dt: 0.0013097083328830195) (absTime: 4654.223937833334) but sometimes system: (dt: 0.009999999776482582) scene : (dt: 0.009 112249999816413) (absTime: 4654.351299 166668) Shouldn't those be more or less equal, or am I missing something? In the end it seems that getting hand position from AnchorEntity and with handAnchors(at:) gives kind of same results, but at different time points, so I'd love to understand what's the correct way to use them and why time flows differently :). --Edit-- P.S. Had to put spaces everywhere in logs between "9" and "1", otherwise post was blocked due to "sensitive content" :D
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126
May ’25
Tracking multiple ImageAnchor simultaneously on VisionOS
Using the example code posted here: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/visionOS/tracking-images-in-3d-space I can register multiple ReferenceImage s with a ImageTrackingProvider, but only one updates at a time - to have realtime updating, I can only have one ImageAnchor in my field of view at a time. Is it possible to track multiple imageAnchors at the same time in the same field of view? As in having several ImageAnchor's tracked and entities updated to the transforms of the anchor in the same frame/moment from the Apple Vision Pro?
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257
Nov ’25
ARKit sessionInterruptionEnded never called in Window Mode.
Hi 26 beta guys, I have apps using ARKit. In iPadOS 26 beta, ARKit stops working after switching to other apps. how to: Enable WindowMode in iPadOS 26 Launch my app and start ARSession Switch to another app (preference app, etc.) Switch back to my app AR stops updating camerafeed. I debug printed ARSessionDelegate, and found that after sessionWasInterrupted was called, sessionInterruptionEnded was never called. sessionInterruptionEnded is called if WindowMode disabled. Is this just a bug for 26 beta? I suspect there is similar problem with non-AR camera. Any idea?
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117
Jun ’25
Enterprise API with Education Account
Hello, I am trying to develop an app that broadcasts what the user sees via Apple Vision Pro. I am a graduate student studying at the university. And I have two problems, If I want to use passthrough in screen capture (in VisionOS), do I have to join Apple Developer Enterprise Program to get Enterprise API? and Can I buy Apple Developer Enterprise Program (Enterprise API) with my university account? Have any of you been able to do this? Thank you
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254
Jul ’25
VisionPro Enterprise.license file
I have read in the apple documentation and on forums that in order to access the camera and capture images on VisionPro, both an Entitlement and an Enterprise.license are required. I already have the Entitlement, but I don’t yet have the Enterprise.license. I would like to ask: is the Enterprise.license strictly required to gain camera access for capturing images? How can I obtain this file, and does it require an Enterprise account? Currently, my developer account is a regular Developer 99$, not an Enterprise account.
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397
Oct ’25
Request: Option to Disable PSVR2 Sense Controller Low-Power Mode on visionOS (ARKit + Vision Pro Development)
Hi everyone, We’re developing a Unity project for Apple Vision Pro that connects PSVR2 Sense controllers for advanced interaction and input. We’ve encountered a major limitation: when the controller is not held close to the designated hand (e.g., resting on a table or held by the non designated hand), the Sense controller enters a low-power or reduced-update mode. This results in noticeably reduced tracking update frequency and responsiveness until the controller is held again. For certain use cases, this behavior is undesirable. In our case, it prevents continuous real-time tracking of the controller even when it’s stationary or being tracked externally. Request: Please consider exposing an API flag or developer option in ARKit to disable and optionally delay the low-power mode when the app requires full-rate updates regardless of proximity or hand pose detection.
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194
Oct ’25
ARKit: Keep USDZ node fixed after image tracking is lost (prevent drifting)
0 I’m using ARKit + SceneKit (Swift) with ARWorldTrackingConfiguration and detectionImages to place a 3D object (USDZ via SCNScene(named:)) when a reference image is detected. While the image is tracked, the object stays correctly aligned. Goal: When the tracked image is no longer visible, I want the placed node to remain visible and fixed at its last known pose (no drifting) as I move the camera. What works so far: Detect image → add node → track updates When the image disappears → keep showing the node at its last pose Problem: After the image is no longer tracked, the node drifts as I move the device/camera. It looks like it’s still influenced by the (now unreliable) image anchor or accumulating small world-tracking errors. Question: What’s the correct way in ARKit to “freeze” the node at its last known world transform once ARImageAnchor stops tracking, so it doesn’t drift?
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483
Oct ’25
The AccessoryAnchor transform does not match any of the Accessory.LocationName options.
I am using AccessoryTrackingProvider from ARKit to get the transform of the PSVR2 controller via originFromAnchorTransform of the AccessoryAnchor. I also am trying to use AnchorEntity on the controller using RealityKit However, none of the three options for Accessory.LocationName, which should be used to define the AnchorEntity target, seem to match the position on the controller which is being sent from ARKit. The picture attached is showing two transforms: RealityKit - using .gripSurface to define the AnchoringComponent.Target.accesssory location. ARKit - using originFromAnchorTransform for AccessoryTrackingProvider. They are not aligned at the same point. As for the other options of Accessory.LocationName, using .aim is located at the tip of the controller and .grip is the same position as .gripSurface but with a different orientation. I am wondering why there is not an option for Accessory.LocationName that actually matches the transform captured by ARKit?
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556
Dec ’25
Technical Inquiry regarding iPhone LiDAR Specifications and ARKit Data Integrity
Hardware Specifications Regarding the LiDAR scanner in the iPhone 13/14/15/16/17 Pro series, could you please provide the following technical details for academic verification: Point Cloud Density / Resolution: The effective resolution of the depth map. Sampling Frequency: The sensor's refresh rate. Accuracy Metrics: Official tolerance levels regarding depth accuracy relative to distance (specifically within 0.5m – 2m range). Data Acquisition Methodology For a scientific thesis requiring high data integrity: Does Apple recommend a custom ARKit implementation over third-party applications (e.g., Polycam) to access raw depth data? I need to confirm if third-party apps typically apply smoothing or post-processing that would obscure the sensor's native performance, which must be avoided for my error analysis.
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