RealityKit Animation Physics
Quick Start
- Decide whether the task is animation, character motion, navigation/behavior, collision, rigid physics, forces/joints, particles, compute simulation, or cloth.
- Load the matching reference file only.
- Use documented RealityKit animation and physics components before custom ECS update loops.
- Switch to
realitykit-ecs-systemswhen behavior needs custom per-frame processing across multiple entities. - Switch to
realitykit-visionos-developerfor general input, attachments, entity loading, anchoring, or non-physics component selection.
Load References When
| Reference | When to Use |
|---|---|
| references/animationlibrarycomponent.md | Work with loaded animation clips or animation libraries. |
| references/animation-graphs-and-retargeting.md | Use animation graphs, retargeting, root motion, or mesh deformers. |
| references/blendshapeweightscomponent.md | Drive blendshape weights for facial, character, or mesh deformation. |
| references/skeletalposescomponent.md | Inspect or set skeletal pose state. |
| references/ikcomponent.md | Configure inverse kinematics. |
| references/bodytrackingcomponent.md | Use body tracking component state. |
| references/charactercontrollercomponent.md and references/charactercontrollerstatecomponent.md | Build character controller movement and inspect controller state. |
| references/navigation-and-behavior-trees.md | Add navmesh pathfinding, agent steering, or behavior trees. |
| references/collisioncomponent.md | Define collision shapes for physics, contacts, hit testing, or input targeting. |
| references/physicsbodycomponent.md, references/physicsmotioncomponent.md, references/physicssimulationcomponent.md | Configure rigid-body physics, motion, and simulation behavior. |
| references/physicsjointscomponent.md, references/forceeffectcomponent.md, references/geometricpinscomponent.md | Configure joints, forces, and pinning. |
| references/particleemittercomponent.md | Use built-in particle emitters. |
| references/compute-graph-particles.md | Build GPU particles or compute simulations with ComputeGraph. |
| references/cloth-simulation.md | Simulate cloth bodies, cloth colliders, or cloth grabbing. |
Cross-Routing
- Use
realitykit-rendering-materialsfor visual appearance, materials, cameras, lights, shadows, splats, LOD, or post-processing. - Use
realitykit-audio-spatialfor audio events tied to motion or physics. - Use
realitykit-ecs-systemsfor custom systems, component registration, update queries, or continuous multi-entity behavior. - Use
realitykit-visionos-developerforInputTargetComponent, gestures,ManipulationComponent, attachments, or asset-loading ownership.
Guardrails
- Collision shapes serve both hit testing and physics; verify the intended owner before changing them.
- Keep continuous simulation behavior in RealityKit systems or documented components, not SwiftUI body code.
- Treat visionOS 27 animation, navigation, compute, and cloth additions as beta API; re-check symbols against the installed SDK.
- Validate simulation work with deterministic inputs where possible and note whether the check ran in simulator or on device.
Output Expectations
Provide:
- the animation or physics category
- which references were used
- the component or system path chosen
- the motion, collision, or simulation constraint
- the next runtime validation step