Late last week, Varjo debuted its new Teleport solution. This digital twin-creation product drives accessibility to the emerging technology by allowing iOS users to create virtual recreations of real-world locations. The service is available under an early access period, with further distribution news to follow.
The service will be an Apple-exclusive smartphone application that enables simple options to capture spaces for sharing and exploration via an XR headset, including full spatial movements within a captured VR environment.
By launching as an iOS service, Varjo allows users to create digital twins of large-scale targets without needing additional expensive equipment. Varjo notes how the Teleport solution can recreate targets down to accurate renditions of lighting, shading, textures, details, and reflections.
After scanning an area, a user uploads the asset to the Varjo cloud storage space. Once uploaded, Varjo provides ML tools to assist with further processing and editing. Users can also share their captures via a private link, allowing colleagues to review a teleport digital twin.
The Teleport service comes as Apple touts its own Vision Pro spatial recording service for the MR headset, allowing users to capture 3D images from their iOS device and watch those recordings on a Vision Pro headset.
The news comes as Varjo look to position itself as a spatial data firm alongside its headset ambitions. During NVIDIA GTC, Ben Cathcart, Head of Product Marketing at Varjo, explained:
Spatial computing is something that can be used by all departments that are not necessarily so technical-minded. We are making spatial computing open to more enterprise roles than ever before. As people start to realise the productivity gains you can get using XR technology, sustainability gains, and cost savings, all these benefits are combined into one to make a path for XR to expand into the enterprise.
Cathcart also noted that “developing 3D scenes for XR is very difficult.” However, Varjo is leveraging NVIDIA Omniverse to drive sophisticated XR and digital twin content—”nothing is pre-baked. It’s all real-time retraced, etc. If you make changes in the Omniverse scene, it is reflected instantly in the headset. It is a very good opportunity to have real-time iterative development of 3D environments, scenes, and assets.”
Varjo Reveals New XR-4 MR Headset
In November 2023, Varjo officially announced its latest enterprise-grade MR headset portfolio: the XR-4. The device portfolio includes the XR-4, XR-4 Focal Edition, and XR-4 Secure Edition, three MR headsets designed to cater to various end-users from aviation to government to defence.
The firm notes that the new XR-4 lineup is purpose-built with industrial clients in mind, not consumers. Varjo claims that the new XR-4 lineup goes well beyond the capabilities of consumer-grade headsets, which are only suitable for 2D productivity use cases – set to bring clients a new range of spatial opportunities.
Varjo is pricing the base model for the XR-4 series at 3,990 euros or dollars. According to Varjo, the devices are available for enterprise clients today, and the first shipments will roll out in December.
