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XR Interaction Toolkit preview package is here

December 17, 2019 in Engine & platform | 3 min. read
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The XR Interaction Toolkit enables you to add interactivity to your AR & VR experiences, across our supported platforms, without having to code the interactions from scratch. As of today, it’s available as a Preview package for Unity 2019.3 via the Package Manager.

We are excited to share the initial Preview release of the XR Interaction Toolkit, available as a package for Unity 2019.3. This toolkit provides a set of components to enable users to build interactive and immersive experiences quickly and easily. Our goal is to enable common augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) interactions without the need to write code, while still making the system extensible for developers who wish to create their own interactions. Additionally, we’re excited to share that it is compatible with all of our supported AR and VR platforms.

In Preview

While you are welcome to use the toolkit in production, please note that the XR Interaction Toolkit is currently in Preview and is considered an unfinished product until its public release. In particular, please consider the AR features as experimental at this point in time.

During the Preview period, we are looking for feedback from a broader range of customers to ensure that the feature set, workflows, performance, and stability meet your needs. We plan on a number of iterations between now and the public release and look forward to hearing your feedback to help us improve the product.

Object interactions (AR & VR)

The XR Interaction Toolkit provides the means to hover over, select, grab (directly or from a distance), throw, and rotate objects within a VR scene. The same interactions are compatible with AR as well when used alongside AR Foundation. Additionally, the toolkit supports tap, drag, pinch, and zoom for interacting with AR objects in the world.

Object placement (AR)

We also provide the means for automatic content creation in AR, allowing for placement and scaling of 3D objects in the world. AR annotations are also supported to display information to users about placed AR objects and possible interactions.

UI interactions (AR & VR)

With this toolkit, basic canvas UI interactions with controllers from all of our supported AR and VR platforms are enabled as well.

Locomotion (VR)

The toolkit provides the means to teleport, including the use of snap turns, within a VR scene. You can extend this locomotion system to include other methods of movement within a room-scale VR experience.

Ready to get started?

The XR Interaction Toolkit is available as a Preview package for Unity 2019.3, which has entered the “release candidate” phase and is expected to officially ship early next year. You may experiment with it using the beta release of Unity 2019.3, but we cannot guarantee nor commit to addressing any issues prior to the official release of Unity 2019.3.

Documentation can be found here, and samples are available in this GitHub repository, though they are only compatible with Unity 2019.3 and beyond. 

Please note that since it is a Preview package, you will need to enable viewing Preview packages. In the Package Manager menu, there is an “Advanced” drop-down by the search bar. Open it, and you will see “Show Preview Packages”.

Our XR team is just getting started, and development continues. Please send us feedback via this quick survey, or join us in the forums!

December 17, 2019 in Engine & platform | 3 min. read

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Thank you for your feedback!

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