Today, we’re excited to announce the latest addition to our suite of real-world AR development tools, the Niantic Scanning Framework. This new API, available as part of Lightship ARDK 2.5, gives developers the tools to enable fast 3D scanning in their Unity-based applications with no LiDAR required.

Create immersive AR experiences with real-world objects and locations

It’s often easy to think of AR as a one-directional process: developers take virtual content they’ve created and overlay it on the real world for users to engage with. But going the other direction - allowing users to bring things from the real world into the virtual one - is a powerful way to create personal connections to a game or experience that make it truly memorable. This is exactly what Niantic Scanning Framework enables.

The Scanning Framework, built on the core technology of Scaniverse, is a customizable 3D scanning tool that allows end-users to capture objects, places, and people quickly. Then, Scanning Framework turns these captures into 3D meshes that can be used directly as content within your application. This process can be completed in seconds on any modern smartphone without the user leaving the app.

In early testing, we saw developers using Scanning Framework to enable everything from fun entertainment and gaming applications to practical 3D asset creation.

For example, the team at Designium is using the Scanning Framework to create Measuranimal, an entertainment application that lets you scan an object and immediately use it as a unit of measurement. With this fun application, users can finally answer burning questions like, “I wonder how many bananas could fit in this room” or “How many cats long is this table?”

Morphi, the top easy 3D modeling and design app, is using Scanning Framework in their upcoming platform. This platform will allow users to quickly create and remix 3D models based on real-world environments and objects and use them to create everything from game design to animation to education.

Expand the AR map of the world for precise location-based AR

Additionally, the Scanning Framework allows your users to activate new locations for the Lightship Visual Positioning System (VPS). With Lightship VPS, developers can build AR experiences anchored to real-world locations with centimeter-level accuracy.

While Lightship VPS is currently available in over 125,000 locations, we know there are many more places developers may want to create location-based AR experiences. Historically, we constructed VPS-activated locations by stitching together scans submitted by Niantic’s dedicated player and developer community. With the Scanning Framework, developers can now invite their users to scan their favorite locations and contribute to activating new VPS locations worldwide. Once a location is sufficiently scanned, it will become available for developers to build real-world AR experiences.

At launch, we’re also releasing the Scan Target API, which will identify nearby locations waiting to be scanned and activated. When a user gets to a location to scan, they will be guided with on-screen feedback, a high-fidelity textured mesh preview, and on-device quality checks to ensure a scan is fit for VPS mapping before uploading.

Get started with the Niantic Scanning Framework

The Niantic Scanning Framework is now available in the Niantic Lightship ARDK 2.5. To start building, register for a Lightship developer account and and download the latest Lightship ARDK.

Want to learn more? Check out our documentation and release notes for every detail.