Despite several rumors, there were no AR glasses unveiled at Apple’s WWDC. As we examined last week, the underlying tech and consumer culture aren’t ready for AR glasses… and Apple knows it. But the ensuing disappointment in the AR world overshadowed some notable WWDC announcements.
For example, Apple announced a new room scanning feature known as RoomPlan that could democratize AR creation. This could have opportunities for SMBs and mid-market players to unlock immersive customer experiences in verticals like hospitality, real estate, and interior design.
Dimensional Map
Before going into RoomPlan’s details, a bit of background is in order. For AR to work properly, it needs a dimensional map of a given space. Of course, there’s rudimentary AR like early versions of Pokémon Go, but that involves “floating stickers” without any environmental interaction… which inhibits the illusion.
For AR’s true promise, digital elements should interact with their surroundings in dimensionally-accurate ways. Back to the Pokémon example, graphics should be able to hide behind trees or remain at a consistent focal depth while real-life people walk in front or behind them, as dimensionally appropriate.
This brings us back to environmental scanning. The idea is that spaces are scanned for both geometric and semantic understanding. The former is all about room contours while the latter is all about contextual signals. For example, Niantic can understand things like grass or water for relevant AR placement.
But bringing all of this beyond gaming to more practical examples, room scanning can be a key part of creating or enabling AR experiences for things like e-Commerce. So if you can get a comprehensive room scan on the fly, you can better place a virtual couch – at home or in a furniture showroom.
In Step
This brings us back to Apple’s announcement this week. It brings advanced 3D scanning for physical spaces – previously reserved for deeper-pocketed tech players – to any business with a LiDAR-equipped iPhone. This happens through an API that lets developers integrate room scanning in their own apps.
So what are practical applications? As hinted, this could be game-changing for real estate pros who want to scan 3D models to virtually display properties (Covid-aligned). It could also boost the functionality of existing tools, such as Houzz AR tool for renovation pros to help customers visualize projects.
And that’s what comes next. We’ll see third-party app developers increasingly jump on this opportunity and enable advanced room scanning for various apps. There are some constraints in current LiDAR penetration in iOS devices, but that will resolve over time, possibly in step with RoomPlan’s adoption.
Meanwhile, much of the above isn’t new given companies like Matterport that offer high-end spatial mapping for 3D model creation in real estate. The difference with RoomPlan is that the technology is democratized and brought to any app developer via API, and any LiDAR-equipped iPhone or iPad.
We’ll be watching closely as that unfolds and gradually makes its way down market to SMBs.
