Microsoft announces new Azure cloud services to allow developers build cross-platform AR apps

If a developer wants to build an AR app that can run on iOS, Android and HoloLens, there is a need for a cloud service that supports various platforms and also enables the developer to build an immersive experience. Microsoft today announced two new Azure mixed reality services which will enable such developers to build cross-platform and contextual mixed reality applications. Microsoft is announcing two new services: Azure Spatial Anchors and Azure Remote Rendering.

Azure Spatial Anchors:

Spatial Anchors is a cross-platform developer service that allows you to create mixed reality experiences using objects that persist their location across devices over time. This enables developers to build apps that map, designate and recall precise points of interest that are accessible across HoloLens, iOS and Android devices. It allows people in the same place to participate in multi-user mixed reality applications. For example, two people can start a game of mixed reality chess by placing a virtual chess board on a table. Then, by pointing their device at the table, they can view and interact with the virtual chess board together. One of the people can use an iPhone while the other can use an Android device.

Azure Remote Rendering:

Azure Remote Rendering as the name suggests allows developers to render complex 3D models from the cloud and stream it to mobile devices and mixed reality headsets. Due to hardware limits, you can’t render a high-quality 3D model on a mobile device or an AR headset, so you can use this service to render high-quality 3D content in the cloud and stream it to edge devices, all in real time, with every detail intact.

Azure Spatial Anchors is in public preview and Azure Remote Rendering is now in private preview.

Source: Microsoft