Varjo, renowned for crafting top-tier XR headsets, has just unveiled a novel 3D scanning service aimed at enterprise users. This innovative smartphone-based tool is designed to rapidly craft highly detailed digital environments, which can be explored either in VR or through traditional screens.
They’re calling it Teleport, and it’s a paid app offering users the ability to capture and recreate physical spaces, with Varjo claiming the process only takes about 5 to 10 minutes. This is remarkably quicker compared to traditional photogrammetry techniques. Currently, Teleport supports a range of devices, specifically iPhones and iPads using iOS 17 or newer, covering models like the iPhone XR and upward, as well as Apple’s 8th gen iPad and newer iterations.
The so-called “digital twins” created through this app are not just limited to phones and PCs. Varjo says they can be explored using their own XR headsets and other prominent PC VR headsets. The 3D models, which benefit from contemporary advances in Gaussian Splatting and NVIDIA’s GPU-trained generative models, are processed in the cloud initially. Once downloaded, an internet connection isn’t required to interact with and explore these models on your device.
Teleport sets you back $30 a month, though Varjo is currently enticing users with a seven-day free trial. By subscribing, users get access to various captures at no additional cost through a web viewer in both standard and high-definition. There’s also an option for viewing captures in the highest quality through a desktop client.
The introduction of Teleport coincides with Varjo expanding its Series D funding round, welcoming new investors like Beyond Capital, Nishikawa Communications, and the tech giant NVIDIA. Although Varjo hasn’t revealed the exact figures from this latest funding effort, they shared with Road to VR that their total funding now stands at around €180 million or $188 million USD. This capital influx is targeted to boost Varjo’s mission of expanding the adoption of XR technologies across industrial applications. CEO Timo Toikkanen emphasizes that they plan to harness AI and machine learning to create seamless real and virtual integrations, which will drive productivity and efficiency for industrial users.
In the meantime, Meta is also making moves in similar waters with its consumer-oriented project, Horizon Hyperscape, initially revealed back in September. It’s a demo designed to highlight Meta’s vision of future photorealism. They envision a future where creators can craft entire worlds within Horizon, simply by scanning a room with a phone. However, as of now, there’s no definite timeline for when Meta will officially launch this capability to the masses.
