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

ARKit Documentation

Posts under ARKit subtopic

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RealityRenderer's Perspective Camera's FOV
Hi, I have been using RealityRenderer to render scenes in MacOS as spatial videos and view it in Vision Pro and it is awesome. I understand that it uses PerspectiveCamera to render. I wanted to know what is the default FOV for this camera and how much can we push it? I want to ideally render a scene with 180 degrees of fov. Thanks
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112
May ’25
I need to loop my videoMaterial.
I need to loop my videoMaterial and I don't know how to make it happen in my code. I have included an image of my videoMaterial code. Any help making this happen with be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Christopher
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106
Jun ’25
ARDepthData.confidenceMap only returns low confidence on certain devices
A few users have recently reported no longer being able to capture point clouds using our app, specifically on iPhone 15 Pro devices. We recently found an in-house device that exhibits this behavior and found that the confidenceMap contains only low confidence values, regardless of the environment being captured. Our app uses a higher confidence threshold; setting the threshold to a lower value produces noisy results as expected, so that is a non-viable option. Other LiDAR based apps have been tested with this device and the results are the same. No points, or noisy point clouds in apps that allow a lower confidence threshold setting. On devices that exhibit this behavior the "Displaying a point cloud using scene depth" Apple sample app can be used to visualize the issue. First reports of this new behavior occurred as early as iOS 18.4. Looking for recommendations on which team(s) at Apple to reach out to with these findings since the behavior manifests on only a small sample of devices.
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Jun ’25
I need to troubleshoot Transform Drift in ARKit
Hi all, I'm currently developing a real-time object reconstruction app using ARKit. The goal is to scan large objects using ARKit’s depth and transform data, and generate a point cloud. However, I’m facing a major challenge - Transform Drift / World Alignment Issues The localToWorld transform provided by ARKit frequently seems to drift or become unstable across frames. This results in misaligned point clouds even when the device is moved slowly or kept relatively still. In some cases, a static surface scanned over a few seconds results in clearly misaligned fragments. This makes it difficult to accurately stitch a multi-frame point cloud. I have experimented with various lighting conditions and object textures, but the issue persists in all cases. At times, the relative error between frames reaches up to 20 cm, while in other instances the error is minimal; however, the drift gradually accumulates over time, leading to an overall enlargement of the reconstructed object. I have attached images of both cases here. Questions: Are there specific conditions under which ARKit’s world transform is expected to drift? Is there a way to detect or recover from this drift during runtime? Any best practices for maintaining consistent tracking during scanning or measurement sessions?
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98
Jun ’25
Possible contradiction between ARKit's definition of UIDeviceOrientation.landscapeRight and the actual definition of UIDeviceOrientation.landscapeRight
So it seems to be that there is a contradiction between how ARKit defines UIDeviceOrientation.landscapeRight, and the actual definition of UIDeviceOrientation.landscapeRight in the UIKit documentation. In the ARKit documentation for ARCamera.transform, it says the following: This transform creates a local coordinate space for the camera that is constant with respect to device orientation. In camera space, the x-axis points to the right when the device is in UIDeviceOrientation.landscapeRight orientation—that is, the x-axis always points along the long axis of the device, from the front-facing camera toward the Home button. The y-axis points upward (with respect to UIDeviceOrientation.landscapeRight orientation), and the z-axis points away from the device on the screen side. Going through the same link, we see the definition of UIDeviceOrientation.landscapeRight given as: The device is in landscape mode, with the device held upright and the front-facing camera on the right side. There seems to be a conflict in the two definitions, that has already been asked and visualized in this StackOverflow thread The resolution of that answer says that ARKit landscapeRight, unlike what is given in UIDeviceOrientation.landscapeRight, has home button on the right, as stated in the ARCamera.transform documentation. It says that more details are given in this StackOverflow thread, but this thread talks about the discrepancy between the definitions of landscapeRight in UIDeviceOrientation and UIInterfaceOrientation, and not anything related to ARKit. So I am wondering, why does ARKit definition of landscapeRight contradict with that of UIDeviceOrientation despite explicitly mentioning it? Is it just a mistake by Apple developers that hasn't been resolved even after so long?
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Jun ’25
ARKit camera transform orientation vector doesn't match physical device heading (despite `.gravityAndHeading`)
Hi all, I'm working on an ARKit-based iOS app where I need to accurately determine the direction the device is facing to localize objects in the real world. I'm using: let config = ARWorldTrackingConfiguration() config.worldAlignment = .gravityAndHeading Thus, I would expect the world alignment to behave as given in the gravityAndHeading page. The AR session is started after verifying that CLLocationManager.headingAccuracy <= 20, and the compass appears to be calibrated. However, I'm seeing a major inconsistency: When the rear camera is physically pointed toward true North, I would expect: cameraTransform.columns.2.z ≈ -1 // (i.e. ARKit's -Z pointing North) But instead, I'm consistently seeing: cameraTransform.columns.2.z ≈ +0.97 // Implies camera is facing South Meanwhile, the translation vector behaves as expected: As I physically move North, cameraTransform.columns.3.z becomes more negative, matching the world’s +Z = South assumption. For example, let's say I have the device in landscapeRight (or landscapeLeft for UIDeviceOrientation). Let's say the device rear camera is pointing towards True North, and I start moving towards True North. I get something like this: Camera Transform = simd_float4x4( [ [0.98446155, -0.030119859, 0.172998, 0.0], [0.023979114, 0.9990097, 0.037477385, 0.0], [-0.17395553, -0.032746706, 0.98420894, 0.0], [0.024039675, -0.037087332, -0.22780673, 0.99999994] ]) As you can see, the cameraTransform.columns.2.z is positive despite the rear camera pointing towards True North, while cameraTransform.columns.3.z is correctly positive as the device is moving towards True North. So here is my question: Why is cameraTransform.columns.2.z positive when the rear camera is physically facing North? Any clarity would be deeply appreciated. I've read the documentation and tested with different heading accuracies and AR session resets, but I keep running into this orientation mismatch. Thanks in advance!
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104
Jun ’25
Keyboard Tracking
Hi! I'm currently experimenting on Apple Vision Pro with hand and head anchors. Is there a way to get an anchor linked to the apple magic keyboard (as the detection is already done to display inputs at the top)? Thanks in advance, Have a good day!
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637
Jul ’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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466
Sep ’25
Current Apple Forum about ARKit and visionOS
Recently, questions about ARKit/visionOS seem to be being asked in the Apple forum by internal Apple engineers. Inexperienced and untested makeshift features are being offered, putting average but experienced developers in a difficult position. They are unable to react and get something useful from the posts. Apple needs to review the situation.
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Sep ’25
How to best manage ARKitSession in concurrent code
I have a visionOS app where I instantiate ARKitSession and various providers (HandTrackingProvider and WorldTrackingProvider) in my appModel. That way, I can pass these providers to a Task which runs a gRPC server for sending the data from these providers to a client. When the users enters the immersive space of the app, the ARKitSession will run the providers if they are not running already. I am now trying to implement the AccessoryTrackingProvider with the PSVR sense controllers but it does not fit with my current framework because the controllers may not be connected when the ARKitSession.run function is called. So I need to find a new place to start the session. My question is, if I already have a session which is running the hand and world tracking providers, can I start another session to run the accessory tracking? Should they all be running on the same session? Is there a way to stop the session and restart it when the controllers are connected? When I tried this, I get an error that says "It is not possible to re-run a stopped data provider (<ar_hand_tracking_provider_t: " but if I instantiate a new HandTrackingProvider, then the one that got passed to the gRPC task would no longer be the one running in the new session. Any advice on how best to manage the various providers and ARKit sessions would be greatly appreciated.
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2w
visionOS 3d interactions like the native keyboard when no longer observed in passthrough
While using apple's vision pro, we noticed that we can continue to use the visionOS keyboard when we no longer actually see it in passthrough. In other words, when we focus on a field to type, visionOS displays the keyboard for us in such a way that we actually see it. Then, we noticed if we look away a little bit, either up, or down, or left, or right, in such a way that the keyboard is no longer visible by us in the passthrough, the keyboard still remains responsive to taps from our fingers at the location where it is. It seems the keyboard remains functional and responsive to taps even though we can no longer observe/see it. We are trying to figure out how to implement similar functionality in our app whereby the user can continue to manipulate a 3d entity when the user can no longer actually observe it in passthrough (like the visionOS keyboard appears to allow). I assume the visionOS keyboard has this functionality thanks to the downward facing sensors on the hardware that allow hand tracking even though the hands can no longer be observed by the user. That is likely how we can rest our hands on our lap is still be able to interact with visionOS. How can we implement a similar functionality for 3D entities? Is there a way to tap in, or to allow hand tracking, from those toward facing cameras? Is it possible to manipulate a 3D entity when it is no longer observed by the user for example when they shift their attention somewhere else in the field of vision? How does the visionOS keyboard achieve this?
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2w
ARKit / visionOS - handtracking with 3D objects attached on hand
I use ARKit's hand tracking to attach a 3D model of a remote control to the left hand. The user is supposed to press buttons on the remote control. In the Vision Pro settings, I have removed the left hand from Hands & Eye Tracking. Only the right hand is used. The problem now is that the left hand appears and the 3D model of the remote control fades out. I want the remote control to be completely visible. The user should feel like they really have the remote control in their hand. Can I prevent the fading out?
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1w
How to Implement a Curved Surface Effect for Video Playback and Allow Dynamic Width Adjustment in visionOS?
Dear Apple Engineers, I am working on a project in visionOS and need to implement a curved surface effect for video playback, where the width of the surface can be dynamically adjusted. Specifically, I want the video to be displayed on a curved surface (similar to a scroll unfolding), and the user should be able to adjust the width of this surface. I have the following specific questions: How can I implement a curved surface for video playback and ensure the video content is not stretched or distorted on the surface? How can I create a dynamic curved surface (such as a bending plane) in RealityKit or visionOS, where the width can be adjusted by the user? Is it possible to achieve more complex curved surface effects (such as scroll unfolding or bending) using Shaders or other techniques? Thank you very much for your help!
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521
Dec ’24
ARView.Environment.SceneUnderstanding.Options.occlusion not working on models that aren't opaque
Is this behaviour expected? For example, if I'm using let materials = [SimpleMaterial(color: .red, isMetallic: false)] occlusion works normally, but with let materials = [SimpleMaterial(color: .red.withAlphaComponent(0.5), isMetallic: false)] i can see my cube through real-world objects, like tables, columns, etc. I'm getting the same behaviour if using CustomMaterial from shader and applying customMaterial.blending = .opaque and customMaterial.blending = .transparent(opacity: ) respectively
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505
Dec ’24
Persisting Anchors in RealityView with ARMode on iOS
Platform: iOS18 Tech: RealityView Hi! I was wondering if RealityView now provides ways for their session to persist Anchor data in a world such that the anchor locations in one session can be saved and loaded in a another session that persists the exact same anchor positions. I know that ARWorldMap in ARKit does that, but I was not able to find a way to use it with RealityView. I think it's because RealityView has ARKit under its hood but does not expose the ARKit session info publicly to the client code. So I was wondering if there's a SwiftUI + RealityView approach that can help me to achieve a similar goal: Come back to the same location and see the object in exactly the same place. Thanks!
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525
Jan ’25
VisionOS Main Camera Enterprise API: Development license into distribution for Business Store
Hello, We've been working for months now on an App for the Vision Pro. (it's been great btw!) We already have an App in the App Store for iOS, and have been migrating our platform from the Microsoft Hololens 2 to the AVP: https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9NPPP031VHD1 We require the Main Camera access and already have gotten the Enterprise.license for development purposes. Unfortunately, we cannot publish our Business App (which uses an Enterprise API) under the same Name/Bundle ID as our iOS App because it would conflict with our current Distribution Method. We arrived at the conclusion that we need a new Enterprise.license under a different Bundle ID to create a new App for the Business Store. Has anyone been in the same boat as us, and tried to publish to the Business Store while already having an App in the Public App Store under the same name? We applied to get another license for distribution under another name (with "Pro" at the end), but it's been stuck in limbo for over a month now (probably because the new bundle ID doesn't have any track record). Anyhow, thanks for any help, we're open to suggestions as to how to proceed!
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441
Feb ’25
Adding reference image failed in VisionPro
I am using ARKit to detect image in visionPro. However I met some question about adding the reference image. Some of my images can not be added correctly sometimes. (As you can see in the picture above, the 'orange' can not be added correctly, but the 'cup' can). However, sometimes they will be added without any problem. I do not know why it will happen. And I want they all be added steadily.
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229
Mar ’25