An augmented reality test that will convince you that this is the future

If you’re reading our magazine, Apple’s AR/VR glasses are sure to come in handy, we’ve been talking about them for months now. They paint a revolutionary product, but the reality is that we already have samples of its potential.

To proveThe guys at Shopify tested iPhone augmented reality with lidar to see what a room would look like without all the furniture.. The resulting new AR prototype was showcased by Shopify’s Russ Maschmeier on Twitter.

The demo, which he calls the “reset button” for the room, showcases Ikea’s virtual design tool.

Great interest in this “reset button” for your room we built @Shopify what do you use @Manzananew #Room plan API. Here’s how we built it… 1/12 pic.twitter.com/YdNP1vebVW

— Russ Maschmeier (@StrangeNative) July 13, 2022

But while this just an internal experiment that offers an interesting look at the kind of experience that might be possible with the latest Apple AR APIs.

In the video, Maschmeier shows how the prototype is able to seamlessly erase the contents of a room.n which lets you use your iPhone to look at empty space in AR.

The prototype is built using the Apple RoomPlan API, a developer tool that the company detailed at this year’s WWDC.

It is designed for an iPhone or iPad equipped with a LiDAR sensor to scan a room.understand its geometry and furniture and create a 3D model that app developers can use as they see fit.

Maschmeier’s theme is an interesting look at what Apple’s technology is like in practice. For example, this explains that the model generated from the scanner has no textures at all, so the Shopify prototype needs to collect texture data from the phone’s camera.

And then, figure out how to extend those textures behind the furniture that might be hiding parts of the walls and floor. Then he superimposes the resulting 3D model on the real room.

Prototypes like these give hope that interesting uses for the technology might be just around the corner. Will we see similar applications when Apple introduces its AR/VR glasses? Let’s hope.