RoomPlan: Apple's new API for AR design

During the Worldwide Developer Conference, Apple presented several brand new features for its tablets, starting with iPadOS 16. The firm's large touch screens were also entitled to new APIs, including RoomPlan which uses the sensorLiDARto scan three-dimensional environments.

This radar is available on several devices, includingiPad Prothe most recent but alsothe iPhone 13 Proand the iPhone 12 Pro. It uses time-of-flight technology (also known asToFpourTime of Flight) to measure distances in augmented reality, like that found on top of certain autonomous cars or on robot vacuum cleaners.

Model a part from your mobile

WWDC was an opportunity for the first developers to test RoomPlan, and the least we can say is that the result is particularly striking. Judge for yourself, the back sensor of the iPad Pro is, for example, capable ofdetect each piece of furniturein a bathroom in real time:

Test #2 – vaulted ceilings. I noticed that the wall shapes have to be rectangular. It could not follow the slant angle of the ceiling line. This made parts of my walls much taller than in reality.

It did a great job at picking out the desks and bedroom furniture.pic.twitter.com/fbu5B9L3Ds

— Jonathan Stephens (@jonstephens85)June 7, 2022

Of course, the result is not yet perfect, but for a system available on consumer products, Apple has clearly set the bar very high. In the second video, we can notice that LiDAR sometimes has difficulty recognizing constructions whose guidelines are not perpendicular. We can bet that by the time iPadOS 16 and iOS 16 are released for everyonein the fall, these incidents will be resolved.

For your future apartment?

RoomPlan therefore seems to have already proven itself, and could quickly catch the eye of several brand creators. We think in particular of the case ofIkea, the Swedish store being accustomed to collaboration with Apple thanks toits connected blinds can be triggered with HomeKit automation.

Thanks to the RoomPlan API, Ikea could allow its customers tovirtually replace their interior furniturewith its own items to be assembled as a kit. A simple way to test before buying, without leaving home.

To learn more about RoomPlan, please visitthe official documentation provided by Apple for iOS and iPadOS developers.