We are very excited to introduce Viro AR, a platform for developers to rapidly build native AR applications. Earlier this year we launched our VR platform, and we’ve now extended it to include support for ARKit, making Viro a full mixed reality solution. Now developers can build brand new standalone AR apps, or they can add AR features like Snapchat’s AR lenses into their existing properties. Leveraging React Native and our proprietary rendering engine, Viro is a cross platform alternative to Apple’s SceneKit for AR/VR development (Android ARCore support coming very soon).

The Viro platform is free and developers can get set up and start building apps in under 10 minutes. Check out our Tutorial to get started. Also, download Figment AR to see some of what’s possible with the Viro platform.

Figment AR for iOS

When we started Viro, our goal was to build a toolset for non-gaming applications that was accessible to web and mobile developers, like ourselves. While games will always be a large part of AR/VR, consumer and enterprise applications are going to be huge: from fun social apps to enterprise tutorial apps to new forms of media. Enabling more developers to build AR/VR experiences will lead to a better, larger and more diverse ecosystem of apps.

Viro’s combination of powerful new tools and a familiar framework makes building AR/VR applications more accessible than ever. Here are some of the reasons to choose the Viro platform when developing your AR application:

Native Performance, Powerful Rendering — With Viro, developers have access to a feature rich renderer necessary to build robust AR apps.

Create stunning scenes with HDR rendering, lighting and shadows (Docs | Code Sample) and bring them to life with our particle system (Docs | Code Sample)

(Docs | Code Sample) and bring them to life with our (Docs | Code Sample) Enable mixed reality with full support for immersive media such as 360 photos and videos, stereoscopic photos and videos, and 3D models (FBX and OBJ) (Docs | Code Sample)

such as 360 photos and videos, stereoscopic photos and videos, and 3D models (FBX and OBJ) (Docs | Code Sample) Add real world mechanics to your objects with physics and animation (Docs | Code Sample)

Fast, Iterative AR Development — In addition to powerful rendering, the Viro platform brings the best features of React Native to AR/VR development: declarative API’s, flexible layouts and responsive components. Viro enables fast and iterative development by offering testbed apps for iOS and Android, eliminating the need for Xcode or Android Studio while developing.

Cross platform — We are actively working on ARCore/Android support right now and it will be available very soon. Once ARCore support is launched, your AR apps built with Viro will be cross platform compatible with zero code changes. Write once, run anywhere! So start building your ARKit app today and before you are finished, we will have ARCore support ready.

AR Integration — While ARKit will spawn many standalone apps, we realize that existing apps will want to add AR features for their users. With that in mind, we designed Viro as a lightweight platform that enables developers to easily add AR features. Whether your app is written in Swift, Obj C or React Native, Viro can be used to add AR functionality to any application.

Simplifying AR development — AR development can be daunting at first and we aim to make your transition as easy as possible. One way we do this is by building components and tools around common use cases. Portals, for example, emerged as a popular use case in AR, so we created ViroPortal to make it easy to build these kinds of experiences. Another example: moving objects in 3D space can be complex, so we created onDrag event types designed specifically for AR. Lastly, we simplify development by providing comprehensive guides, documentation, and code samples to get you started. (Bonus: Here are some FREE ASSETS including 3D models and portal frames to get you started)

Hello World — Viro AR Tutorial

We are excited to see all the great AR applications you build using the Viro platform. Start building your AR apps with Viro today -> https://viromedia.com/viroar/