Intermediate–Advanced 6 topic areas 55+ exercises

AR / VR / XR Developer

XR developers must communicate spatial concepts — field of view, presence, degrees of freedom — to designers, product managers, and platform reviewers who may never have worn a headset. This path builds the vocabulary to document interactions, write release notes, explain performance constraints, and pitch spatial experiences clearly across technical and non-technical audiences.

Topics covered

  • spatial computing
  • visionOS
  • XR input methods
  • MR/AR/VR distinctions
  • performance optimization
  • WebXR

Vocabulary spotlight

4 terms every AR / VR / XR Developer should know in English:

spatial computing n.

Computing that blends digital content with the physical world, allowing interaction in three-dimensional space

"Apple Vision Pro marked a major step forward for spatial computing as a consumer platform."
passthrough n.

A camera-based feed of the real world displayed inside a headset, enabling mixed-reality experiences

"In passthrough mode, virtual objects appear to sit on your real desk."
field of view n.

The angular extent of the observable world visible through a headset at any moment

"The wider field of view in the new headset makes peripheral content feel more natural."
6DoF n.

Six degrees of freedom — the ability to track position and rotation on all three spatial axes, enabling full room-scale movement

"Without 6DoF, users cannot lean in to inspect objects placed in the scene."
presence n.

The subjective feeling of "being there" in a virtual environment; a key quality metric for immersive experiences

"Latency above 20 ms breaks presence and causes simulator sickness."
immersive space n.

A visionOS window mode that takes over the full field of view for a fully immersive experience

"We use an immersive space for the 3D model viewer so nothing distracts from the object."
Open full glossary →

📚 Vocabulary Reference

Key terms organised by category for AR / VR / XR Developers:

Spatial Concepts

spatial computingpresenceimmersionfield of viewdepth perceptionparallaxocclusionanchoringworld-lockedhead-locked

Tracking & Input

6DoF3DoFinside-out trackingeye trackinghand trackinggaze inputpinch gesturecontroller emulationpassthroughspatial anchor

Platforms & APIs

visionOSWebXROpenXRARKitARCoreRealityKitMetalUnity XR ToolkitUnreal EngineA-Frame

Performance

frame ratereprojectionfoveated renderingdraw callpolygon budgettexture streamingthermal throttlingcompositor layerrender threadsimulator sickness
Study full vocabulary modules →

Recommended exercises

Real-world scenarios you'll practise

  • Documenting XR UI interactions in a design spec so a designer unfamiliar with 3D space can understand the interaction model.
  • Explaining spatial audio positioning to a sound designer new to XR development.
  • Writing visionOS App Store release notes that highlight the immersive features without using jargon.

Recommended reading

Explore another role

💳 FinTech Developer

Open path →