I think by now there will probably be very few of you that haven’t heard of the forthcoming arrival of Apple Vision Pro.

For those of you who haven’t dived into the details, Apple’s plan for Vision Pro is very different to other concepts like Meta Quest, Microsoft HoloLens and the so-called Magic Leap.

Apple characterizes it as the dawn of “Spatial Computing”.

Spatial? Well isn’t that an interesting adjective for those of us in the mapping world?

At first pass you might think Vision Pro is merely a slightly more innovative set of goggles to help free you from the limitations of computer monitors — thus allowing you to create an expanse of multiple giant virtual screens that wrap around you:

But it’s so much more than that.

The real kicker for geospatial is its ability to immerse you in a truly 3D experience.

David Pogue talked about the 3D aspect of Vision Pro extensively when he recounted the demo he got at Apple’s recent Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC):

Then the wall of the demo room split open to reveal a gigantic screen playing a CGI dinosaur scene. An immense dino — some kind of raptor? — lumbered in, noticed me, and looked directly at me.

As I moved around the room, he continued to stare, tracking me.

And then, curiosity thoroughly piqued, the dinosaur — oh man — stepped out of the screen and into the room […]

If your heart rate doesn’t shoot up the first time you see it, you’re in a coma.

So given a truly immersive 3D experience is possible, think of the wonders it will do for maps and mapping in general.

Let’s start with consumer maps:

The world of consumer maps is fast bifurcating into two very different types of experiences:

• One is mapping in the true sense of the word: i.e. an abstraction of the real world in some simplified form, allowing the user to quickly make sense of the world around them to solve the problem at hand. The London Tube map is the prime example of such an abstraction.
• The other is to immerse the user in an environment that attempts to recreate the real world, allowing the them to get a feel for the neighborhood without actually going there. I would posit that the FlyOver feature in Apple Maps was the first to do this in a consumer mapping app. ¹ Now we have Google Maps tooting their horn about their Immersive View for routes:

But given the fanfare about Vision Pro, little borborygmi within me give me a sneaky sense that something really big is afoot in the world of Apple Maps…

All the ingredients are there, or at least almost there, to create a truly mind blowing immersive experience:

• Vast amounts of high resolution aerial image data for anywhere on the globe
• Synthetic Aperture Radar ² data finally starting to come online, aiding accurate renderings of photographic data in a 3D model.
• The algorithms and cloud compute power to process all the data ³
• A device — Vision Pro — with all the horsepower needed to render the experience

I can’t begin to imagine what it would be like to experience this in true 3D with a 360^o wrap around view. Spellbinding I’m sure.

But then let’s not forget about maps in the traditional sense of the word. Some of you will have been lucky enough to witness the AR experience of the Apple Park campus that Apple launched at the Apple Park Visitor Center in 2017 — some six years ago.

In this demo you get to see an AR overlay of Apple Park on top of a large topographic table, albeit just viewed using an iPad.

What is really interesting about this demo is the ability to switch on and off various dynamic layers of data, for example the airflow through the main Apple Park building. To get a better idea of what I’m talking about watch this one minute video:

Now instead of a big, expensive table and experiencing this through the tiny viewport of an iPad, instead imagine experiencing this using Vision Pro.

Not only would the view be much more immersive but you could also insert yourself into the scene from any angle — and you could be any size — for example, a normal human being walking the pathways or perhaps a little mouse or an ant crawling through some crevice or up some pipe.

And then there’s data layers. OMG.

To anyone who’s familiar with Geographically Insidious Systems your mind should be exploding — the possibilities of what you could do with viewing and controlling data layers in Vision Pro are endless.

Can you imagine the stories you could tell? Can you imagine the enveloping analyses you could perform? Can you imagine the collaborations you could have?

For the simpler world of Apple Maps, the data layers you might control would be for simple things like traffic, weather, public transport or the interiors of buildings.

But for “professional geographers” — well, the ideas are limitless.

I think it’s time for someone to blow people’s minds. Don’t you? ⁴

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¹ Ok, Ok. Google StreetView maybe. 😉

² One of the first times Synthetic Aperture Radar (or “SAR”) was used was on the SR-71 spy plane in the 1970s — some 50 years ago. Now the likes of Capella Space are flying birds to capture SAR data globally on a regular basis. It’s a fascinating technology as it can not only give you the data you need to model 3D landscapes, but it can also see through clouds.

³ If you want to learn more about processing imagery data, look no further than Blackshark.AI. Numerous organizations have used Blackshark to create a 3D digital twin of the entire planet. Probably their most famous customer is Microsoft who used Blackshark to create the amazing scenery you see in the latest version of Microsoft Flight Simulator. Here’s a preview of the 2024 version:

⁴ If you’re a developer in the mapping business here are a few developer sessions from WWDC to get you started:

• Develop your first immersive app
• Create 3D models for Quick Look spatial experiences
• Explore rendering for spatial computing
• Meet Core Location for spatial computing
• Explore the USD ecosystem