Along with iOS 13.4 and iPadOS 13.4, Apple has released ARKit 3.5 to let developers take advantage of the new LiDAR Scanner in the new iPad Pro. The latest ARKit release features Scene Geometry, Instant AR, and improved Motion Capture and People Occlusion.
Apple announced the update in a post on its developer site today:
Here’s how Apple describes the three major changes that come with ARKit 3.5:
Apple has shared some examples for how the LiDAR Scanner on the iPad Pro will improve some of the existing AR experiences out there but we’ll have to wait until this summer or fall to hear more about all-new AR tools and apps that could be enabled by the new hardware.
Scene Geometry
Scene Geometry lets you create a topological map of your space with labels identifying floors, walls, ceilings, windows, doors, and seats. This deep understanding of the real world unlocks object occlusion and real-world physics for virtual objects, and also gives you more information to power your AR workflows.
Instant AR
The LiDAR Scanner on iPad Pro enables incredibly quick plane detection, allowing for the instant placement of AR objects in the real world without scanning. Instant AR placement is automatically enabled on iPad Pro for all apps built with ARKit, without any code changes.
Improved Motion Capture and People Occlusion
With ARKit 3.5 on iPad Pro, depth estimation in People Occlusion and height estimation in Motion Capture are more accurate. These two features improve on iPad Pro in all apps built with ARKit, without any code changes.
You can find all the developer resources for ARKit 3.5 here.
