Khronos releases OpenXR 1.0 for AR/VR, backed by Epic, Microsoft, and Oculus

Four months after the Khronos Group debuted a provisional OpenXR specification for AR and VR platforms, seeking industry input, it’s kicking off Siggraph today with the official release of OpenXR 1.0 — an open, royalty-free, cross-platform standard supported by major hardware and software companies. The specification will enable extended reality applications to run with less device-specific customized code across multiple platforms, including those from Epic Games, Microsoft, Oculus, and Varjo, while enjoying the benefits of hardware acceleration.

Developing a common app framework is particularly important now that augmented and mixed reality software development is picking up across new and existing platforms. As high-speed, low-latency 5G networks launch, numerous cellular network-fueled extended reality glasses from different vendors are expected to hit the market, potentially diffusing app developers’ limited resources in the process. Khronos says OpenXR’s APIs can “hide the 5G round trip from applications,” in addition to handling non-5G specific API features, such as a device’s display composition, sensor input, layers, and real-time tracking of still and moving objects.