Google Cloud rolls out Immersive Stream for XR
February 9, 2023
Last year at Google I/O, the company previewed Immersive Stream for XR, which leverages Google Cloud GPUs to host, render, and stream photorealistic experiences to millions of mobile devices. Google has announced that the service is now generally available for Google Cloud customers.
With Immersive Stream for XR, users don’t need powerful hardware or a special application to be immersed in a 3D or AR world; instead, they can click a link or scan a QR code and immediately be transported to extended reality. Google Maps is using it to power the ‘immersive view’ feature in Google Maps, while automotive and retail brands are enhancing at-home shopping experiences for consumers, from virtually configuring a new vehicle to visualising new appliances in the home.
With this latest product milestone, Immersive Stream for XR now supports content developed in Unreal Engine 5.0. Google has also added the ability to render content in landscape mode to support tablet and desktop devices. With landscape mode and the ability to render to larger screens, there is more real estate for creating sophisticated UIs and interactions, for more full-featured immersive applications. Users can now embed Immersive Stream for XR content on their own website using an HTML iframe, allowing users to access their immersive applications without leaving their domain.