The Cupertino giant is preparing its weapons ahead of the launch of its first mixed reality headset. New string to its bow, a tool that allows any user to create augmented reality experiences, without knowing how to code, and thanks to Siri.
Allowing all users to create their own augmented reality experience, easily, without having to master Swift or another programming language, or even dedicated authoring tools, is Apple’s goal. Think Minecraft or Roblox, renowned for their ease of creating 3D universes, immerse them in augmented reality and pass them through the filters of Apple’s software approach, and you might have the real revolution that will accompany the launch of the mixed reality headset from the Californian giant.
A tool to facilitate creation in AR
According to The information, Apple engineers are reportedly working to develop a tool that will allow users of its headset to create augmented reality experiences without having to code, create 3D characters or objects, or go through the hassle of making sure they’re half sunk into a piece of furniture or a wall. In other words, the tool would offer a library of content to integrate, such as animals, for example, and would then be able to manage occlusion and positioning in space with precision to avoid misfires.
But, of course, there is a little extra challenge. Since the tool will be used in augmented reality, users will not always be able to use a keyboard or mouse. Apple therefore aims to allow them to control all the stages of the creation of these augmented reality experiences by voice, via Siri.
The Information specifies that it was not possible to know at what level of progress this creation tool is, but claims that demonstrations were made internally in 2021. In addition, Apple would consider launching this tool at the same time than the helmet, even if its availability could be postponed in the event of a delay in its development.
The fruit of long-term work
However, the application would not have been created ex-nihilo. In 2017, Apple would have bought a Quebec start-up, called Fabric Software. The Fabric Engine, the video game engine created by the young company, aimed to automate, using algorithms, the construction of inanimate (objects, furniture, etc.) or animated (humans, animals) environments and models. , etc.). It should also allow developers to manipulate the elements and even the environment through a visual interface, which dispensed with producing computer code.
In addition, Apple has dedicated a team to the development of a tool that will easily scan and import real objects into the virtual world. We have already seen the manifestation with functions already accessible, such as Object Capture, introduced at WWDC 2021.
The Information also reports other start-up purchases that have not necessarily been made public. Thus, in 2015, Metaio, a Munich start-up, was acquired. She specialized in the creation of tools to produce augmented reality applications. A year later, in 2016, Apple reportedly acquired DigitalRune, a Swiss company, which aimed to make it easier to create 3D games. In 2018, it was another Swiss company, Flashwell, that the Californian giant bought. It uses machine learning to make it easier to find objects from photos.
With this tool, Apple intends to solve two problems. The first is that a priori, according to a study by Creative Strategies from 2021, 69% of developers surveyed would not have tried ARKit, Apple’s tool for creating augmented reality experiences in applications. The second problem is that of virtual/mixed reality headsets in general and consists of their lack of uses.
Uses to invent or reinvent
The Cupertino giant should highlight communication, thanks to an enriched version of FaceTime, which will allow communication with more or less realistic avatars, depending on whether the chat will be one-on-one or in a group. In addition, Apple would work with Hollywood producers to provide specific content to watch through its headphones. Of course, he also prepares dedicated “experiments”. He has set up a small team, called Z50, mainly made up of people from the video game industry, whose task is to create augmented reality experiences.
One of them would consist in evolving in a Zen garden, another would offer to merge the whimsical environment of the famous Oh, the places you’ll go, by Dr. Seuss – a great classic of children’s literature – with your real environment. But, Apple would also consider developing AR experiences that would be based on the content of its Apple TV + offer. We have already seen one of his productions, which extended the universe of the series For All Mankind thanks to a time capsule in which one could find letters, slides, and even floppy disks for an Apple II.
But by making life easier for developers — even to the point of perhaps making each of us an AR experience creator — Apple clearly intends to increase the chances of delivering content that will draw users into its ecosystem.
The fact remains that the first generation of headphones could be far too expensive for the general public to take hold of them. Some models could cost upwards of $3,000, according to sources from Mark Gurman, a reporter for Bloomberg. This is a real obstacle to the adoption of this platform and this technology.
This is probably why Apple has decided to work on a second mixed reality headset, less efficient, and less expensive, which could be launched within a year or a little more. A way to make your investments profitable, to familiarize as many people as possible with augmented reality and to make each of us the producer of experiences that could then be distributed to everyone. The project is ambitious, but it will have to be flawless from a functional point of view to attract users. Only remains to hope that Siri will have made progress by then.
The Information
