What’s next for the Maps SDK for Unity
Global location context for new experiences in 3D and world-scale AR
By: Miroslav Lysyuk
We’re building the tools to power location context in world-scale AR and to bridge games and apps with the real-world environment. Given that many developers are new to the location-based experience and AR fields, our goal is to make the process of development in the space intuitive without sacrificing on the full power and flexibility of our tools. That includes the tools and data to successfully go from tabletop AR to world-scale AR.
Developers will realize the full potential of AR at world scale, and we want to give them the data necessary to power the location context to achieve it. Here’s a look at what’s to come with the Maps SDK for Unity:
Coming soon
Make a map in a minute or less. Plug-and-play templates for major use cases like:
- Location-based games
- City simulation and modeling
- Location-based AR
Out-of-the-box styling templates that look beautiful:
- Choose from new Mapbox styles or use them as starting points to create your own custom styles for map features like buildings.
- Fix split buildings at tile edges.
More intuitive functionality, less time learning about the SDK and GIS:
- Surface common functionality into the user interface to speed up the development process.
- Make it easier to use POIs for triggering events.
- Make it easier to import custom POIs.
- Continue to improve documentation and tutorials, including video-based tutorials.
Make it easier to create good world-scale AR experiences:
- Improve AR localization as a major step toward a better developer experience for world scale AR.
On the horizon
Expand on core features:
- New layers of data designed for location-based gaming and AR.
- Make it easier to generate procedural and manual mesh & texture styling.
- Add runtime styling for design workflow efficiency gains.
- Simplify external data import and usage.
World scale AR optimization:
- Enable multiuser, persistent AR experiences.
- Optimize for AR drift.
Our team’s vision is to enable developers to use our Maps SDK for Unity to create immersive, location-based experiences in 3D and world-scale AR. We’re making our priorities transparent and accessible to the community, and we’d love your input on GitHub.
