SynergyXR 2.1 Release Highlights

Here’s what we’ve packed inside the latest version of SynergyXR 

• Use the Internet in VR with our built-in web browser
• Travel easily between virtual spaces with SynergyXR Portals 
• Upload content much faster with a simple click-and-share feature

If you haven’t yet heard, the Corporate Metaverse is the next generation of the Internet. In many ways, it’s the sum of your organization’s internal virtual spaces, all linked and open to everyone in your organization. That’s one of the reasons we’re so excited about the latest release of SynergyXR, because now you can surf the Internet with the new built-in web browser, enabling things like streaming, showing presentations, and googling information without having to take off your VR headset.

Even more, we’ve now made it possible for users to link their virtual spaces together using the brand-new SynergyXR Portals feature, making it simple and easy to travel seamlessly between virtual spaces in their Corporate Metaverse, kind of like pages on a company website. This allows users to connect virtual worlds and experiences inside SynergyXR.

And we’ve made populating these virtual worlds with mind-blowing content easier than ever with the new quick share extension available for iOS devices. So now you can use your smartphone to create a 3D scan and toss it into SynergyXR with just a few clicks. Also, adding photos, and videos to your virtual space directly from your phone takes only a few seconds.  

We’re proud to offer this and much more in SynergyXR 2.1. 

New features

In-app web browser 

Users can now enjoy everything the Internet has to offer from within SynergyXR through the new built-in web browser. Access web pages, webshops, online data dashboards, presentations, or even entire online office suites through Office365 or Google Suite. You can even have multiple web browsers to quickly switch between web content. And to make it even easier to access your favorite web page, users can bookmark these for easy reference.

Space portals 

Our amazing community of users has created lots of inspiring spaces in SynergyXR. But until now, it hasn’t always been easy to switch between them. With the new SynergyXR Portals, users can travel between spaces instantly – without having to revisit the SynergyXR lobby. By browsing a list of available spaces, or by using a portal connected to another space, users can move directly from space to space at their own convenience. And since group travel is frequent in SynergyXR, portals help ensure that nobody is ever left behind. 

Content creation on the fly 

In SynergyXR, content is king! With the latest update to SynergyXR for iOS, we now enable users to quickly upload photos, videos, and even 3D models through the native share extension. Capture an image – record a video – or even use your favorite 3D scanner, like PolyCam or Scaniverse, to capture the world around you. With only a few easy clicks, the content is uploaded directly to SynergyXR, ready for you to get creative and start building. Content creation in XR has never been more effortless! 

These and many more improvements are now available in SynergyXR 2.1.  

SynergyXR 2.1 – technical release notes

Web browser 

• Users can now add a web browser, located in the wrist menu under “Content” 
• A web browser can be moved/rotated/scaled as well as locked in place, as with all other 2D content types in SynergyXR 
• In the top-bar of the browser, the title of the current URL is shown 
• In the bottom-bar, the URL address is shown 

• When a Space is saved, the current URL of each web browser is also saved, making it easy for users to visit the same web pages later
  

Web browser control 

• A user can choose to “take control” of the web browser, enabling the user to interact with all parts of the web browser  

• On PC, this locks the user in place, so as not to interfere with the web browsing experience with keyboard movement controls 
• In VR, the virtual keyboard is shown enabling the user to type in URLs 
• Only the user in control of the web browser can interact with it. All other users in the session only see what is happening 
• A user can “release control” by clicking the icon in the top right corner. On PC, the “Esc” shortcut can be used with the same result, or by right clicking the mouse
  

Multiple web browsers 

• Multiple web browsers can be added to a single Space 
• When adding a new web browser, all other web browsers are put in an “inactive” state 
• “Inactive” browsers will show the last visited URL as a semi-transparent thumbnail 
• Users can choose to “activate” another browser to switch which browser is currently active 
• Users are notified with relevant pop-ups when control is changed from one user to another
   

Web browser bookmarks 

• Users can choose to “bookmark” the current web page 
• Users can also see a list of “all bookmarks” previously saved 
• By clicking a bookmark, the user is quickly taken to the desired web page 
• Bookmarks can also be deleted in the “all bookmarks” overview 
• Bookmarks are saved to a user’s profile, meaning that bookmarked web pages can easily be accessed even if visiting other Workspaces
   

Web browser limitations 

• Unfortunately, sound is not currently supported in the web browser 
• Unfortunately, the web browser is not supported on the HoloLens
   

Portals and group travel 

• From the wrist menu under “Content”, users can access the “Portal menu” 
• A list of all current Spaces is shown. By clicking a Space in the list, the user is shown a preview of the Space 

• The user can choose to “Group Travel” to the chosen Space. This will initiate a 5 second countdown, after which all users in the Session are traveling to the new Space automatically 

• Users will be asked to save changes to the Space before confirming the group travel 

• Alternatively, the user can place a portal in the Space. This portal is a persistent link to the chosen Space, enabling users to travel to this in the future 

• The Portal can be moved/rotated/scaled as well as locked/unlocked with all other types of content in SynergyXR 
• When clicking the Portal, a group travel is initiated  
• If there are users with “Author” permissions in the Space, only these users can “Group Travel” directly or by interacting with Portals. This allows Authors to control the flow of the experience 
• In case there are only users with “Viewer” permissions, all these users can “Group Travel” directly or by interacting with existing Portals. This allows Viewers to quickly travel between Spaces when an Author is not present 
• Multiple Portals can be placed in a single Space allowing quick access to multiple other Spaces 
• A Portal leading back to the origin Space is not automatically placed in the destination Space to ensure Spaces are not unnecessarily cluttered with Portals. But users are free to add these manually in case that is desired 
• If a user using the HoloLens is present in the session, the group can only travel to HoloLens Spaces, since the HoloLens cannot access pure virtual Spaces
   

SynergyXR for iOS – quick share extension 

• Users with the SynergyXR app for iOS installed, can now quickly upload images (.png and .jpg), videos (.mp4 and .mov), and 3D models (.glb) directly to their Workspace of choice through the built-in share functionality 
• When clicking on the “Share” icon, the user can choose which app to share via. If SynergyXR is not in the list, users can find SynergyXR in the “more” list 

• We advise users to set SynergyXR as a favorite in the list of share apps to quickly access it in the future 
• Users will need the newest version of SynergyXR installed on their iOS device for this feature to be available 

• Users will be asked to login. Login state is shared between the main application and this share extension – so if a user is logged into one, he/she is automatically logged into the other 
• When logged in, the user must choose which Workspace to upload to 

• In case the user only has access to a single Workspace, this step is skipped 

• The user can search through existing tags or create new tags. All applied tags are shown in the lower right corner 
• Once happy with the tags, simply press “Upload” and the content is uploaded with the applied tags to the chosen Workspace 
• In case a 3D model is uploaded, a thumbnail is automatically generated
   

Scenario system improvements 

• When loading a scenario, all steps are locked for editing  
• Authors can unlock or lock individual steps 
• Unlocked steps enable all users to move them spatially, or change the order in the scenario sequence 
• Users with “Viewer” permissions cannot lock or unlock steps, neither can they save changes to a scenario – these rights are reserved for users with “Author” permissions
   

Optimize memory consumption through KTX image compression 

• When uploading new images or 3D models through the SynergyXR Manager, users can choose to “optimize” the content (on by default) 
• Users can see the estimated memory consumption change in the upload preview 
• Optimized images and textures of 3D models will enable users to have more content in each Space 

• As with all compression techniques, this can change the visual appearance slightly, but to most users this should not be noticeable 
• We always keep a copy of the original file, enabling users to revert the compression in case they are not happy with the visual appearance 
• Users can also go back to old images and 3D models and optimize these 
• Memory estimates should now be more precise both for KTX compressed content and for other content types.