Today, Apple released ARKit 3.5 for developers with support for iPad Pro’s new LiDAR Scanner, less than a week after the company unveiled the new iPad Pro, the company’s most advanced ever. Now with the A12Z Bionic chip, iPad Pro is faster and more powerful than most Windows PC laptops. The new iPad Pro adds an Ultra Wide camera, studio-quality mics and a breakthrough LiDAR Scanner that delivers cutting-edge depth-sensing capabilities, opening up more pro workflows and supporting pro photo and video apps. The LiDAR Scanner, along with pro cameras, motion sensors, pro performance, pro audio, the stunning Liquid Retina display and powerful apps, extends the lead of iPad Pro as the world’s best device for augmented reality.
The breakthrough LiDAR Scanner enables capabilities never before possible on any mobile device. The LiDAR Scanner measures the distance to surrounding objects up to 5 meters away, works both indoors and outdoors, and operates at the photon level at nano-second speeds. New depth frameworks in iPadOS combine depth points measured by the LiDAR Scanner, data from both cameras and motion sensors, and is enhanced by computer vision algorithms on the A12Z Bionic for a more detailed understanding of a scene. The tight integration of these elements enables a whole new class of AR experiences on iPad Pro.
Every existing ARKit app automatically gets instant AR placement, improved motion capture and people occlusion. Using the latest update to ARKit with a new Scene Geometry API, developers can harness the power of the new LiDAR Scanner to unleash scenarios never before possible.
Juli Clover for MacRumors:
According to Apple, the new LiDAR Scanner will allow for a “new generation of AR apps” that use Scene Geometry for enhanced scene understanding and object occlusion.
Existing AR experiences on iPad Pro can also be improved with instant AR placement and improved Motion Capture and People Occlusion.
At the current time, the new LiDAR Scanner with its enhanced augmented reality capabilities is limited to the new iPad Pro models, but Apple is also expected to include the feature in the 2020 iPhone models set to be released this fall.
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