AOUSD unveils roadmap towards OpenUSD standardisation

The Alliance for OpenUSD (AOUSD) has unveiled a roadmap outlining its journey towards establishing OpenUSD (Universal Scene Description) as an international standard.

AOUSD's two-year roadmap is a strategic plan to make OpenUSD an international standard for interoperability in describing 3D scenes and environments.

The Core Specification working group, a key component of this roadmap, will lay the foundation for OpenUSD by defining the structure and interpretation of...

13 December 2023 | Gaming

Apple begins Vision Pro staff training ahead of launch

In the countdown to the release of its highly anticipated Vision Pro, Apple has begun training its staff on the $3,499 mixed-reality headset.

Unveiled in June, the Vision Pro marks Apple’s first major new product line for nearly a decade. According to a Bloomberg report by Apple tipster Mark, seminars for Apple Store staff are slated to commence in January.

Each store in the US is reportedly sending "a few" members for a two-day training session at Apple's Cupertino,...

11 December 2023 | Metaverse

Samsung prepares to announce its Vision Pro rival

Samsung, Google, and Qualcomm are gearing up for an exciting announcement following their strategic partnership to build next-generation AR/VR products.

During the summer Unpacked event in Seoul, Samsung's president of mobile experience, TM Roh, assured journalists that the plan for a new XR headset and ecosystem is on track and that an official announcement is imminent.

The partnership was first announced six months ago at Samsung's Unpacked event in February in San...

1 August 2023 | Metaverse

Apple releases visionOS SDK for crafting ‘all-new experiences’

Apple has released the visionOS SDK for developers eager to explore the possibilities of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) experiences for Vision Pro.

While betas and SDKs for other Apple operating systems like iOS and macOS were launched on the first day of WWDC, developers had to wait for the release of the visionOS SDK. This meant that they could prepare their software for the upcoming fall releases but couldn't immediately start building for the new...

22 June 2023 | Development Tools

Developers will be able to apply for Vision Pro dev kits

Apple is gearing up for its next big leap into the world of spatial computing with the introduction of the Vision Pro. Developers eagerly awaiting their opportunity to prepare apps for the device will be able to apply for dev kits.

Vision Pro is Apple’s first leap into spatial computing. However, without access to the hardware, developers face significant challenges in building and testing their applications for the platform. 

While specific details about the...

6 June 2023 | Developer

Apple opens ‘Activities’ sign-ups for WWDC 2023

Apple has opened sign-ups for ‘Activities’ which enable remote developers to actively participate in this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) festivities. 

Apple introduced WWDC Digital Lounges in 2021, providing developers with the opportunity to engage in online discussions with Apple engineers and designers. This year, the experience returns for WWDC23, renamed simply as Activities.

Developers can now register on the Apple Developer website to...

31 May 2023 | Developer

Tim Cook: Augmented reality can ‘bring people together’

Apple CEO Tim Cook has long been a proponent of augmented reality (AR) over virtual reality, arguing that AR has the potential to bring people together rather than isolate them.

In a recent profile with GQ, Cook reiterated his belief that overlaying the physical world with digital elements can enhance communication and connection between people. 

Cook emphasised that AR should be used to drop digital things into the real world rather than transport people to purely...

4 April 2023 | Platforms

Google tool helps developers create XR experiences

Google has released a tool called Immersive Stream for XR that makes it easier for developers to create mixed-reality experiences.

Earlier this week, the company held an event where it demonstrated a new “immersive view” in Google Maps that uses advances in AI and computer vision to fuse billions of Street View and other images to create a detailed 3D model of locations. Impressively, it even works indoors to allow users to check out a venue like a restaurant before they...

10 February 2023 | Developer

Further details emerge about Apple’s first AR/VR headset

Apple is set to launch its first AR/VR headset this year and we’re starting to get more details about what to expect.

We’ve known for some time that the mixed reality headset is set to pack M2 and H2 chips, adjustable lenses, two 4K displays, a 120-degree field-of-view, and feature more than 10 external and internal cameras to offer a seamless transition between VR and AR.

As expected with such hardware specs, the headset won’t be cheap. Expectations put the cost...

4 January 2023 | App Stores

Game development legend John Carmack quits Meta

Legendary game developer John Carmack has quit his executive consultant position at Meta.

Carmack, the co-founder of id Software and lead programmer of gaming classics including Doom and Wolfenstein, posted a scathing letter detailing his decision:

This is the end of my decade in VR.

I have mixed feelings.

Quest 2 is almost exactly what I wanted to see from the beginning – mobile hardware, inside out tracking, optional PC streaming, 4k (ish)...

20 December 2022 | Gaming