SynergyXR 3.1 release highlights

SynergyXR is the world’s most intuitive and capable platform for creating immersive XR training content—no coding required. Today, we’re excited to introduce SynergyXR 3.1, designed to make the creation, testing, and deployment of XR training even more seamless. With new performance profiling tools, creators can ensure optimal performance across all supported devices. Plus, the improved training catalogue provides users with a more streamlined way to access and engage with training content.

Now that’s what we call scalable XR! Welcome to SynergyXR 3.1!

What’s new in SynergyXR 3.1?

Closing

SynergyXR 3.1 is a game-changer in enabling businesses to create and deploy scalable, high-performance XR training content. With these powerful new tools, training creators can work more efficiently and ensure a seamless experience for learners across all devices. We’re excited to see how you’ll use these innovations to transform your training programs!

Please see the technical release notes for further details.

SynergyXR 3.1 – technical release notes

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Training Catalogue and Viewer user role

• Several customers have requested a more streamlined Viewer experience, making it easier for less experienced users to select between a curated list of training-focused Spaces.
• Viewers will now automatically start in the Training Catalogue menu when starting SynergyXR.
• The “Recommended Action: Training Programs” has been removed, since all users with the “Viewer” role automatically receives this behavior
• The Training Catalogue menu contains the following:
  • All Spaces tagged as “Training Space” in the SynergyXR Manager
  • All active sessions started in a Training Space by another user
  • All planned sessions that take place in a Training Space that the Viewer is invited to
  • Option to enter 6-digit LMS code
  • Option to scan QR-code linking to a Training Space on iOS devices
• The “Recommended Action: Suggested Space” still works for viewers if the suggested Space is a Training Space
• Authors and Admins still start in the normal main menu able to choose between creating new Spaces, open existing Spaces etc.

Procedure Builder – Video as content

• It is now possible to add videos as content to Procedures
• Supported file formats are .MP4 and .MOV
• Add videos as any other type of content in the Content Configuration of the Procedure Builder
• Videos can be manipulated similar to other types of content using existing Actions, incl.:
  • Change visibility: hide or show the video
  • Transform object: move, scale and/or rotate the video
• A new action has also been added to the Procedure system – “Play Video”:
  • Play or stop the video
  • Define start- and/or end-time of the video relevant for the action. This enables only parts of a longer video to be used in a “Play Video” action
  • Define if the video should loop or not
  • Adjust the audio volume of the video
• Videos are treated like any other object in a Procedure, and can also be used as the target of e.g. a “Look At” or “Grab and Place” Operation

Procedure Builder – Replace content

• It is now possible to replace already configured content with a new file – supporting all kinds of content: 3D models, videos, images and sounds
  • This is especially useful if a 3D model is updated, allowing users to replace the existing 3D model without having to re-do any of the Steps using the 3D model
• When replacing content, it keeps its name in the Procedure. This is done to preserve all references where the content is used in Steps and Events so no manual update is necessary
• When exchanging a 3D model, a report is generated specifying any structural changes to the hierarchy of the 3D model. This is important since even a small naming change in the hierarchy can result in references to child components are broken when used in Steps or Events

Procedure Builder – Content configuration – target reference and colliders

• In the Content tab, two new tabs have been added: Inspector and Misc.
• In previous versions of the Procedure Builder, all target references and colliders of a 3D model were shown in long lists. Users can now navigate the Objects menu and only relevant target references and colliders of the chosen element are shown in the Inspector tab
• Users can click the ‘+’ icon in the Objects menu and choose between adding a target reference or a collider in the selected place in the object hierarchy
• Target references added to the hierarchy of the 3D model can be selected in the Objects menu, and a 3D gizmo is shown in the 3D scene allowing users to adjust position/rotation to the target reference
• File name and grab points for the content have been moved to the Misc tab
• Capsule colliders are now correctly drawn in the 3D scene taking any parent rotation properly into consideration
• It is now possible to show/hide individual sub-meshes of a 3D model by clicking the small eye-icon on each sub-mesh. This enables users to e.g. hide the outer shell of a machine enabling them to configure the inner parts unobstructed

Procedure Builder – Streamlined UI

• Icons have been added to all Steps, specifying what Operation the users must perform to complete the Step
  • If multiple Operations are added to the Step, the icon for the first Operation is shown for the Step along with a small ‘+2’ in case two additional Operations have been added to the Step
• The Step Groups and Steps hierarchy is now more compact providing a better overview
  • Step Groups are now simple headers, where the containing Steps can collapse to increase readability
  • The list previously called “Steps” has been completely removed
• Users can now change the title (ID) of Steps and Events directly in their title
  • This removes the need of a separate “ID” parameter that should be activated to define the name of the Step/Event
• Boolean value parameters now have more meaningful default values, and these are more clearly and correctly represented visually
• A small 3-dot menu has been added to all Steps
  • It is now possible to test parts of the procedure starting from the current Step by selecting “play from step”
  • Users can add a Step before/after the current step
  • The Step can be deleted
• For the “Play Animation” Action, users can now use a drop-down list to select available animation clips in the selected Object.

Performance Reports

• Creating rich virtual environments that run smoothly on a wide range of devices can be challenging. We introduce a whole range of tools called Performance Reports that help users to get a better estimate of how content, environments, procedures and complete Spaces will perform.
• These Performance Reports will help users gain a deeper understanding of the Environment, Content, Procedure and/or Space they are currently building. The sooner potential issues are identified, the faster and cheaper they are to correct.

Performance Report – Environment Builder

• Built into the latest version of the Environment Builder is a Performance Report focused on analyzing environments while they are being built.
• Each individual mesh used in the Unity Scene is analyzed with regards to:
  • Mech complexity (number of triangles, number of sub-meshes. Lightmap UVs, etc.)
  • Material use (number of unique materials used)
  • Texture use (number of textures, resolution, memory usage, etc.)
  • Lighting (no real-time lighting allowed – recommend baking lightmap)
  • Colliders (recommend using simple box colliders over complex mesh colliders)
  • Reflection probes (only use SynergyXR reflection probes)
  • Sound (spatial vs non-spatial audio)
• The Performance Report is automatically built when building bundles for the different platforms. If errors exist, users are not allowed to upload the Environment bundle.
• A summary is shown at the top of the report, including accumulated number of triangles, total memory, etc.
• A mouse-over tooltip is shown for all warnings and errors, explaining the issue, and potential actions to rectify this (e.g. reduce the texture resolution)

Performance Report – Content upload

• When uploading content in the web-based SynergyXR Manager all content is now analyzed even more thoroughly
  • 3D models (triangles, materials, draw calls, sub-meshes, textures, animations, bounds, etc.
  • Images (resolution, power-of-two texture, file format, etc.)
  • Audio (codec, sample rate, bit rate, channels, duration, etc.)
  • PDF (resolution, page count, etc.)
• Where possible, issues are auto corrected (e.g. textures for 3D models are automatically scaled to be max 2k)
• Users can also navigate content and Spaces, to see their Performance Report directly in the SynergyXR Manager

Performance Report – Procedure Builder

• When building a Procedure in the Procedure Builder, all content added is not analyzed and an aggregated view of all content in a Procedure is presented in the Performance Report
• All content undergoes the same analysis as if uploaded individually through SynergyXR Manager
• If a warning limit is reached, a pop-up is shown to the user nudging them to see the Report for further details
• In addition to individual content, a summary of the entire Procedure is also available showing an aggregated view of memory usage, download size, number of steps, number of unique files, total number of triangles, and total number of draw calls.
• Tooltips are available for all warnings and errors explaining the issue, and potential actions to rectify this (e.g. reduce the texture resolution)
• The Report can always be accessed from the main menu in a separate tab just to the right of Events

Performance Report – Space

• Finally, a Performance Report can be generated for an entire Space during a live Session
• This Report provides an aggregated view of:
  • Summary of entire Space (performance estimate, memory usage, download size, FPS, draw calls, and total number of triangles in all 3D models)
  • Content report for all content in the Space, including any Procedure
  • Environment report for the Environment used in the Space

Environment Builder improvements

• Users are now allowed to upload environment bundles to only a single platform, instead of requiring a full batch of bundles for all platforms
• The UI now shows which platforms have already been built for
• The Environment Builder now automatically swaps platform when the user wishes to build for the platform