AR/VR/XR Development
Platform Overview
| Platform | SDK | Target Devices | |----------|-----|----------------| | Unity XR | XR Interaction Toolkit | Quest, Vision Pro, PCVR, mobile | | WebXR | Three.js, A-Frame, Babylon.js | Any WebXR browser | | ARKit | RealityKit, ARKit | iPhone, iPad, Vision Pro | | ARCore | Sceneform, ARCore | Android devices | | Meta Quest | Meta XR SDK | Quest 2/3/Pro | | Apple Vision Pro | visionOS, RealityKit | Vision Pro |
Unity XR
// XR Interaction Toolkit setup
using UnityEngine.XR.Interaction.Toolkit;
public class GrabbableObject : XRGrabInteractable
{
protected override void OnSelectEntered(SelectEnterEventArgs args)
{
base.OnSelectEntered(args);
// Object grabbed
}
protected override void OnSelectExited(SelectExitEventArgs args)
{
base.OnSelectExited(args);
// Object released
}
}
Unity XR Best Practices
- Target 72-120 FPS (platform-dependent) — frame drops cause nausea
- Use single-pass instanced rendering for stereo
- Bake lighting where possible, limit dynamic lights to 1-2
- Draw calls: <100 for mobile VR, <500 for PCVR
- Use LOD groups aggressively — user can't see distant detail in VR
WebXR
// Three.js WebXR
import * as THREE from 'three';
import { VRButton } from 'three/addons/webxr/VRButton.js';
const renderer = new THREE.WebGLRenderer({ antialias: true });
renderer.xr.enabled = true;
document.body.appendChild(VRButton.createButton(renderer));
renderer.setAnimationLoop((time, frame) => {
if (frame) {
const session = renderer.xr.getSession();
const inputSources = session.inputSources;
// Handle controller input
}
renderer.render(scene, camera);
});
Apple Vision Pro (visionOS)
import SwiftUI
import RealityKit
struct ImmersiveView: View {
var body: some View {
RealityView { content in
let sphere = MeshResource.generateSphere(radius: 0.1)
let material = SimpleMaterial(color: .blue, isMetallic: true)
let entity = ModelEntity(mesh: sphere, materials: [material])
entity.position = [0, 1.5, -1]
content.add(entity)
}
.gesture(TapGesture().targetedToAnyEntity().onEnded { event in
// Handle tap on entity
})
}
}
XR Design Principles
- Comfort: Avoid artificial locomotion, use teleport or room-scale movement
- Interaction: Direct manipulation (grab, point) over abstract UI
- UI placement: World-space UI at comfortable distance (1-3m), avoid head-locked HUD
- Performance: Frame rate is non-negotiable — optimize ruthlessly
- Accessibility: Provide seated mode, adjustable scale, color-blind options
- Spatial audio: 3D audio for immersion and wayfinding (HRTF, ambisonics)