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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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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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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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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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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2w
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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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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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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360
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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142
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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4w
When using ARKit, why can’t you get the front-facing and back-facing camera feeds at once?
I’d like to use ARKit world tracking and display both the back camera feed and the front camera feeds, using the front feed as as a PIP. This would work great for an internet streaming use case. However, it’s impossible. As soon as ARKit is told to use one mode, the camera for the other side freezes/doesn’t work. This page also says you have to pick one camera to show: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/arkit/arkit_in_ios/choosing_which_camera_feed_to_augment?language=objc A question to the developers: why is this limitation in-place? Are there any work-arounds for the use case of ARKit world tracking + displaying the back camera feed + displaying the front camera feed as an overlay? It’s possible to do this with plain camera initialization without ARKit. (There’s an official example.) With ARKit, it no longer works. It’s strange that I cannot access the front feed via one of the other frameworks, but I guess that ARKit blocks that.
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1.1k
Dec ’24
Is ARGeoTrackingConfiguration always more accurate than ARWorldTrackingConfiguration for world scale AR?
We are working on a world scale AR app that leverages the device location and heading to place objects in the streets, so that they are correctly and stably anchored to certain locations. Since the geo-tracking imagery is only available in certain cities and areas, we are trying to figure out how to fallback when geo-tracking is not available as the device move away, to still retain good AR camera accuracy. We might need to come up with some algorithm using the device GPS, to line up the ARCamera with our objects. Question: Does geo-tracking always provide greater than or equal to the accuracy of world tracking, for a GPS outdoor AR experience? If so, we can simply use the ARGeoTrackingConfiguration for the entire time, and rely on the ARView keeping itself aligned. Otherwise, we need to switch between it and ARWorldTrackingConfiguration when geo-tracking is not available and/or its accuracy is low, then roll our own algorithm to keep the camera aligned. Thanks.
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1k
Oct ’25
Getting to MeshAnchor.MeshClassification from MeshAnchor?
I am working with MeshAnchors, and I am having troubles getting to the classification of the triangles/faces. This post references the MeshAnchor.Geometry, and that struct does have a property named "classifications", but it is of type GeometrySource. I cannot find any classification information in GeometrySource. Am I missing something there? I think I am looking for something of type MeshAnchor.MeshClassification, but I cannot find any structs with this as a property.
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1.2k
Feb ’25
RealityKit/ARKit Environment Texturing broken on iOS 18
Devices running iOS 18 using RealityKit do not seem to receive lighting supplied via ARKit Environment Texturing (https://developer.apple.com/documentation/arkit/arworldtrackingconfiguration/2977509-environmenttexturing). Instead just a default IBL is used by RealityKit. This happens with RealityView as well as ARView. It also happens when I explicitly opt-in to environment texturing: let worldTrackingConfig = ARWorldTrackingConfiguration() worldTrackingConfig.environmentTexturing = .automatic arView.session.run(worldTrackingConfig) Even the Xcode AR Template has this issue. I'm attaching a screenshot of the sample app running on iOS 18 where it's broken and from iOS 17 where it works as expected. I hope this can get resolved quickly since I see it as a major regression. Feedback ID: FB15091335 UPDATE: It works on my older iPhone XS (iOS 18 22A5282m) Broken on iPad Pro (11-inch) (3rd generation) (iPadOS 18.0 (22A5350a)) Maybe it's related to LiDAR? Thank you! iOS 17 (works): iOS 18 (broken):
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Jan ’25
Issues setting up the Enterprise API entitlements (Main Camera Access)
Hello, i've recently received the entitlements to access the main camera stream for a project on the Apple Vision Pro. What happens : When executing code from this WWDC tutorial , i'm getting this error when trying to use a Camera Frame Provider : ar_camera_frame_provider_t <0x300d58870>: Failed to start camera stream with error: <ar_error_t: 0x303fcc4c0 Error Domain=com.apple.arkit Code=100 "App not authorized." UserInfo={NSLocalizedFailureReason=Using camera frame provider requires an entitlement., NSLocalizedRecoverySuggestion=, NSLocalizedDescription=App not authorized.} What I've tried : I followed the instructions given by mail, by : adding the .license file at the root of my project, adding the .entitlements file by adding capabilities in the project (Main Camera Access & Passthrough in screen capture are there). I've added NSCameraDescription, NSEnterpriseMCAMUsageDescription and NSWorldSensingUsageDescription (they all have a value assigned). I've also followed those post & post advices. When checking on the Account settings, i do see the capabilities in the "additional capabilities" On first launch, I'm also getting prompted to accept the NSEnterpriseMCAMUsageDescription, so I assume the info.plist file is valid? What did i missed to get the entitlements working ? Here's the code : import ARKit import SwiftUI import Vision import RealityKit class MainCameraAccess { var arKitSession = ARKitSession() var cameraFrameProvider = CameraFrameProvider() var pixelBuffer: CVPixelBuffer? func startCameraSession() async { let formats = CameraVideoFormat.supportedVideoFormats(for: .main, cameraPositions: [.left]) // Request authorization await arKitSession.requestAuthorization(for: [.cameraAccess]) // Start the session do { try await arKitSession.run([cameraFrameProvider]) } catch { print("Failed to start ARKit session: \(error)") return } // Get camera frame updates guard let cameraFrameUpdates = cameraFrameProvider.cameraFrameUpdates(for: formats[0]) else { return } // Process frames for await cameraFrame in cameraFrameUpdates { guard let mainCameraSample = cameraFrame.sample(for: .left) else { continue } self.pixelBuffer = mainCameraSample.pixelBuffer } } func saveLatestImage() { guard let pixelBuffer = self.pixelBuffer else { print("No image available to save.") return } // Convert CVPixelBuffer to UIImage let ciImage = CIImage(cvPixelBuffer: pixelBuffer) let context = CIContext() guard let cgImage = context.createCGImage(ciImage, from: ciImage.extent) else { print("Failed to create CGImage.") return } let uiImage = UIImage(cgImage: cgImage) // Save UIImage to Photos Album UIImageWriteToSavedPhotosAlbum(uiImage, nil, nil, nil) print("Image saved to photo library.") } } Thanks in advance for the help, Jeremy
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656
Dec ’24
VisionOS DockingRegion getting ignored
Hi, I added DockingRegion to my scene from Reality Composer Pro, and I am able to load up the scene, but DockingRegion is getting ignored and the scene is getting rendered with no change in AVPlayerViewController window. As it can be seen in Reality Composer Pro screenshot below, I set the width of the player to 666, and moved it to the back by 300cm, but the actual result does not reflect the position I set on Reality Composer Pro. Is there anything else I should do other than loading up the Entity and adding to RealityView? Specifically, do I have to get the DockingRegion within the usda file and somehow enable it?
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482
Dec ’24
RealityView and Persistent World Data?
I was watching the Developer videos, and there was mention that RealityView handles persistent world data differently and also automatically for us. I am having an issue finding the material I need to get up to speed on that. In ARKit, I was able to place a model with the world data and recall that .map data. It even stored a reference image for the scene to help match the world data. I'm looking for the information on how to implement and work with those same features with RealityView, as it seems to be better/automatically integrated? I need help being pointed in the right direction. Sample code would be amazing.
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554
Feb ’25
How to find the camera transform (or view matrix) in the world coordinate from a camera frame
I'm trying to implement a prototype to render virtual objects in a mixed immersive space on the camer frames captured by CameraFrameProvider. Here are what I have done: Get camera's instrinsics from frame.primarySample.parameters.intrinsics Get camera's extrinsics from frame.primarySample.parameters.extrinsics Get the device anchor by worldTrackingProvider.queryDeviceAnchor(atTimestamp: CACurrentMediaTime()) Setup a RealityKit.RealityRenderer to render virtual objects on the captured camera frames let realityRenderer = try RealityKit.RealityRenderer() realityRenderer.cameraSettings.colorBackground = .outputTexture() let cameraEntity = PerspectiveCamera() // see https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/770235 let cameraTransform = deviceAnchor.originFromAnchorTransform * extrinsics.inverse cameraEntity.setTransformMatrix(cameraTransform, relativeTo: nil) cameraEntity.camera.near = 0.01 cameraEntity.camera.far = 100 cameraEntity.camera.fieldOfViewOrientation = .horizontal // manually calculated based on camera intrinsics cameraEntity.camera.fieldOfViewInDegrees = 105 realityRenderer.entities.append(cameraEntity) realityRenderer.activeCamera = cameraEntity Virtual objects, which should be seen in the camera frames, are clipped out by the camera transform. If I use deviceAnchor.originFromAnchorTransform as the camera transform, virtual objects can be rendered on camera frames at wrong positions (I think it is because the camera extrinsics isn't used to adjust the camera to the correct position). My question is how to use the camera extrinsic matrix for this purpose? Does the camera extrinsics point to a similar orientation of the device anchor with some minor rotation and postion change? Here is an extrinsics from a camera frame. It seems that the direction of Y-axis and Z-axis are flipped by the extrinsics. So the camera is point to a wrong direction. simd_float4x4([[0.9914258, 0.012555369, -0.13006608, 0.0], // X-axis [-0.0009778949, -0.9946325, -0.10346654, 0.0], // Y-axis [-0.13066702, 0.10270659, -0.98609203, 0.0], // Z-axis [0.024519, -0.019568002, -0.058280986, 1.0]]) // translation
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772
Jan ’25
Reality View argument type does not conform to protocol view
I'm working on creating a panorama view in AVP. When I got to this line of code Xcode says that "Type 'Entity' does not conform to protocol 'View'": private var realityView: RealityView! as well as this line, with the same error message: private func setupPanoramaScene(for content: RealityView.Content) What should I put as a argument for reality view? It doesn't work without arguments either.
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474
Jan ’25