Unity releases test plan for visionOS

, a leading real-time 3D (RT3D) content creation and development platform, today announced the launch of itsvisionOSbeta program, which includes access to Unity PolySpatial, a technology that will power Unity content and other applications inAppleVisionProrun on shared space. By combining Unity's new PolySpatial technology with Apple's RealityKit managed app rendering, Unity-created content will have a unified look and feel with other apps in visionOS, Unity said. The company also said that it has worked closely with Apple to provide support for visionOS and PolySpatial to ensure that users can experience Unity applications on the first day of Vision Pro devices. Developers interested in participating in the beta program can visit Unity's official website to sign up.

With this announcement, creators and developers will now be able to build new experiences and port existing content on visionOS, previewing directly from the Unity editor to Apple Vision Pro for rapid iteration. New creative workflows will enable creators to seamlessly blend content with the physical world, while input tools will give users a natural and intuitive way to control content with their eyes and hands, made possible through Apple's Vision Pro mixed reality headset.

"We're excited to partner with Apple so our ecosystem of millions of game and app developers can bring their Unity apps to this exciting new platform," said Senior Director of Unity Runtime, Editor and Ecosystems. Vice President and General Manager Ralph Hauwert said. “With Unity PolySpatial, we’re making it more efficient and smooth for developers to create new immersive experiences using the editor they know and love. This is at the core of our promise to let developers create once, ship everywhere.”

According to Unity, there are three main approaches to creating spatial experiences on the visionOS platform:
1. Porting existing virtual reality games or creating new fully immersive experiences that replace the player's surroundings with a digital environment;
2. Blend content with perspective to create immersive experiences that blend digital content with the real world;
3. Simultaneously run multiple immersive applications through perspective views in a shared space.

Unity points out that whether you are porting an existing application or creating a new application, using Unity is simpler and clearer, and you need to do the following:
1. Workflow – the visionOS platform is fully supported in Unity, and developers can check their project running status on Vision Pro in just a few steps;
2. Graphics – Unity recommends using Universal Render Pipeline in visionOS projects to achieve higher fidelity visual effects;
3. Input – Users will use their hands and eyes to interact with content on the Vision Pro. Unity's XR Interaction Toolkit adds hand tracking, making it easier for developers to tweak existing projects. Developers can also use the Unity input system to react to built-in system gestures and access raw hand joint data through the XR Hands package for custom interactions;
4. Shared Space – Unity's PolySpatial technology enables developers to create applications that can run in parallel in a shared space.

Unity notes that in addition to immersive applications, developers can also run content in windows that users can adjust and reposition in their space (as shown in the image above). This is the easiest way to bring existing mobile and desktop applications to visionOS and is the default mode for content targeting the visionOS platform. A beta version that supports windowed apps can be tried in Unity 2022 LTS (2022.3.5f1 or later).

Mike Rockwell, vice president of Apple's Vision Products Group, said: "We know that there are a large number of developers who have used Unity's powerful authoring tools to build incredible 3D experiences, and we very much look forward to them building applications for Apple Vision Pro. Unity-based Apps and games can run directly on Apple Vision Pro, so they can use innovative visionOS features, including low-latency perspective and high-resolution rendering. This enables Unity developers to take full advantage of the powerful and unique features of Apple Vision Pro .”

want to know more aboutUnity visionOS For information on the beta program, including Unity's development support for visionOS, PolySpatial and access resources, please visit the official Unity website. For more information on how to prepare your project for the visionOS platform, visit Unity's blog.

(Image source: Unity)