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    Image tracking platform support

    Learn about the features of image tracking in AR Foundation and which platforms support them.

    The AR Foundation XRImageTrackingSubsystem is supported on the following platforms:

    Provider plug-in Image tracking supported Provider documentation
    Google ARCore XR Plug-in Yes Image tracking (ARCore)
    Apple ARKit XR Plug-in Yes Image tracking (ARKit)
    Apple visionOS XR Plug-in Yes N/A
    Microsoft HoloLens
    Unity OpenXR: Meta
    Unity OpenXR: Android XR
    XR Simulation Yes Image tracking (XR Simulation)

    Check for image tracking support

    Your app can check at runtime whether a provider plug-in supports image tracking on the user's device. Use the following example code to check whether the device supports image tracking:

    void Start()
    {
        if (LoaderUtility
                .GetActiveLoader()?
                .GetLoadedSubsystem<XRImageTrackingSubsystem>() != null)
        {
            // XRImageTrackingSubsystem was loaded. Image tracking is supported.
        }
    }
    
    Note

    This example code assumes that your app has already initialized XR.

    By default XR initializes automatically when your app starts, but this is configurable via Project Settings > XR Plug-in Management > Initialize XR on Startup. Refer to the XR Plug-in Management End-user documentation for more detailed information about managing the XR Plug-in lifecycle.

    Optional features

    The following table lists the optional features of the image tracking subsystem. Each optional feature is defined by a Descriptor Property of the XRImageTrackingSubsystemDescriptor, which you can check at runtime to determine whether a feature is supported. Refer to Check for optional feature support for a code example to check whether a feature is supported.

    Feature Descriptor Property Description
    Moving images supportsMovingImages Whether the subsystem supports tracking the poses of moving images in real time.
    Requires physical image dimensions requiresPhysicalImageDimensions Whether the subsystem requires physical image dimensions to be provided for all reference images. If False, specifying the physical dimensions is optional.
    Mutable library supportsMutableLibrary Whether the subsystem supports MutableRuntimeReferenceImageLibrary, a reference image library which can modified at runtime, as opposed to the XRReferenceImageLibrary, which is generated at edit time and cannot be modified at runtime.
    Image validation supportsImageValidation Whether the subsystem supports image validation (validating images before they are added to a MutableRuntimeReferenceImageLibrary).

    Optional feature platform support

    The following table lists whether certain XR plug-in providers support each optional feature:

    Feature ARCore ARKit VisionOS XR Simulation
    Moving images Yes iOS 12+ Yes Yes
    Requires physical image dimensions Yes
    Mutable library Yes Yes Yes Yes
    Image validation Yes iOS 13+ Yes Yes

    Check for optional feature support

    Your app can check at runtime whether an image tracking provider supports any optional features on the user's device. The XRImageTrackingSubsystemDescriptor contains Boolean properties for each optional feature that tell you whether they are supported.

    Refer to the following example code to learn how to check for optional feature support:

    void CheckForOptionalFeatureSupport()
    {
        // This is inefficient. You should re-use a saved reference instead.
        var manager = Object.FindAnyObjectByType<ARTrackedImageManager>();
    
        // Use manager.descriptor to determine which optional features
        // are supported on the device. For example:
    
        if (manager.descriptor.supportsMovingImages)
        {
            // Moving images are supported.
        }
    }
    

    Apple and ARKit are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries and regions.

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