I don’t normally write developer posts but I thought this worthy of a quick write up, there is a new Mixed Reality Toolkit available for developers working in the MR and AR spaces.

The Mixed Reality Toolkit vNext is a tool kit for developing with Windows Mixed Reality, HoloLens, HTC Vive / Oculus Rift and OpenXR platforms. Having a cross platform toolkit is going to be a major benefit for developers looking to target multiple platforms.

Here are the details and the links you will need, taken from devpost.com

What is MixedRealityToolkit-vNext

This new version of the MixedRealityToolkit aims to further extend the capabilities of the toolkit and also introduce new features, including the capability to support more VR/AR/XR platforms beyond Microsoft’s own Mixed Reality setup.

The vNext branch is taking all the best lessons learned from the original Mixed Reality Toolkit and refactoring / restructuring it to both:

  • Support a wider audience, allowing solutions to be built that will run on multiple VR / AR / XR platforms such as Mixed Reality, Steam/Open VR and OpenXR (initially)
  • Provide an easier to use SDK, to enable rapid prototyping and ease adoption for new users (or users of previous frameworks)
  • Ensure an extensive framework for advanced integrators, with the ability to swap out core components with their own should they wish to, or simply extend the framework to add new capabilities.

Learn more about Windows Mixed Reality here.

Learn more about the architecture behind Windows Mixed Reality – vNext here.

Learn more about the approach behind the Windows Mixed Reality – vNext SDK here.

Feature areas

The Mixed Reality Toolkit vNext will includes many APIs to accelerate the development of MR / XR / VR / AR projects for a range of supported devices, including (but not limited to)

  • Microsoft HoloLens
  • Microsoft Immersive headsets (IHMD)
  • Steam VR (HTC Vive / Oculus Rift)
  • OpenXR platforms

Getting started with MRTK-vNext

MRTK-vNext is currently under heavy development, utilizing the current state of the MRTK_development as a starting point. Refer to this branch for working examples and experimental code.

Learn more about the approach behind the Windows Mixed Reality – vNext SDK here. Which aims to help on-board developers quicker when building solutions.

Examples and QuickStart scenes

One radical change to the Mixed Reality Toolkit vNext, will be the standards and approaches to real world example scenes.

New examples will follow strict guidelines, such as:

  • Each example must have a use and demonstrate a real world test case (no tests).
  • Each example will use a standardized template, so all examples have the same look and feel.
  • Each sample will be fully documented, detailing both the use case it is demonstrating and how to implement the features demonstrated.

Check the “Work In Progress” section of the Windows Mixed Reality – vNext SDK for a peek at the first new example.

External\How To docs folder is meant to help everyone with migrating forward or any simple doubts they might have about the process. Please feel free to grow all these sections. We can’t wait to see your additions!

This project has adopted the Microsoft Open Source Code of Conduct. For more information see the Code of Conduct FAQ or contact [email protected] with any additional questions or comments.

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