AR/VR Development learning path: everything to study, topic by topic

Definitions and distinctions between augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR); the extended reality (XR) spectrum; immersion levels; passthrough vs see-through architectures; reality-virtuality continuum

HMD display types (LCD, OLED, micro-OLED), field of view (FoV), interpupillary distance (IPD), lens distortion, fresnel lenses, pancake lenses, waveguide displays, refresh rates, persistence, and visual comfort

SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping), inside-out vs outside-in tracking, plane detection, point clouds, mesh reconstruction, anchors, world understanding, environmental awareness, and scene reconstruction

3D vectors, vector operations (dot product, cross product, normalization), transformation matrices (translation, rotation, scale), matrix multiplication order, model-view-projection pipeline, homogeneous coordinates

Quaternion representation, Euler angles and gimbal lock, quaternion multiplication, slerp interpolation, rotation conversions, axis-angle representation, quaternion normalization, look-at rotations

World space, local space, camera space, screen space, left-hand vs right-hand coordinate systems, parent-child transforms, coordinate system conversions between engines and APIs, tracking space origins

Unity XR Interaction Toolkit, XR Plugin Management, XR Origin setup, tracked pose driver, input actions, XR Rig configuration, AR Foundation, platform-specific settings, and Unity OpenXR integration

Unreal Engine VR template, motion controller components, VR pawn setup, Blueprint vs C++ for XR, OpenXR plugin, hand tracking integration, VR spectator screen, stereo rendering pipeline

WebXR Device API, immersive-vr and immersive-ar sessions, Three.js VR/AR setup, XRFrame and XRReferenceSpace, hit testing, A-Frame framework, Babylon.js XR, browser compatibility and progressive enhancement

Apple ARKit architecture and capabilities, Google ARCore features, plane detection APIs, image tracking, face tracking, object detection, light estimation, environmental probes, cloud anchors

Hand skeleton models (joint hierarchy), hand mesh rendering, pinch and grab detection, hand pose classification, occlusion handling, latency considerations, Meta Hand Tracking SDK, Vision Pro hand tracking

Gaze direction estimation, fixation and saccade detection, foveated rendering, dwell-time interaction, eye tracking calibration, privacy considerations, combined eye-hand interaction, gaze-contingent displays

Static vs dynamic gestures, gesture classification algorithms, custom gesture training, gesture vocabularies, cultural considerations, gesture feedback design, conflict resolution between gestures, machine learning approaches for gesture recognition

Direct manipulation (grab, poke, touch), ray-based interaction (ray casting, curved rays), physics-based interaction, haptic feedback, controller input mapping, two-handed manipulation, object snapping, interaction affordances

Teleportation (arc, bezier, blink), continuous locomotion (smooth, snap turn), room-scale movement, redirected walking, motion sickness mitigation (vignette, tunneling), physical locomotion (treadmill, walk-in-place), comfort settings

3D audio spatialization, HRTF (Head-Related Transfer Functions), ambisonics, audio occlusion and propagation, reverb zones, audio source attenuation, binaural rendering, spatial audio SDKs (Meta, Resonance Audio)

Spatial UI placement, world-space vs screen-space UI, curved panels, gaze-based UI interaction, comfort zones, text legibility in VR, depth-based UI layering, AR overlay design, spatial menus and toolbars

Frame timing and frame budget (90fps/11ms), draw call optimization, single-pass stereo rendering, fixed foveated rendering, level of detail (LOD), occlusion culling, texture compression (ASTC), GPU profiling, thermal throttling management, late-latching and timewarp

visionOS architecture, SwiftUI for spatial computing, RealityKit, windows/volumes/immersive spaces, SharePlay in spatial, persona system, Compositor Services, ARKit on visionOS, enterprise APIs, App Intents for spatial

Meta Quest platform setup, Oculus Integration SDK, passthrough API, scene understanding (Scene API), spatial anchors, Mixed Reality Capture, App Lab distribution, Quest performance guidelines, Meta Horizon OS features

Networked XR architecture, avatar representation and synchronization, shared spatial anchors, co-located vs remote multiplayer, state synchronization (Photon, Normcore, Netcode), voice chat integration, latency compensation, lobby and matchmaking for XR

Inclusive XR design, visual accessibility (color blindness, low vision, subtitles), motor accessibility (one-handed modes, seated play), auditory accessibility, cognitive load management, comfort profiles, vestibular sensitivity, accessibility guidelines (XR Access, W3C XR Accessibility)