Extended Reality Infrastructure
Design scalable infrastructure for AR/VR/MR applications with edge rendering, spatial computing, and volumetric capture
Extended Reality Infrastructure Overview
Extended Reality (XR) infrastructure encompasses the systems needed to deliver immersive AR, VR, and MR experiences at scale. These systems must handle real-time rendering, spatial tracking, content distribution, and user interaction with ultra-low latency while managing massive computational and bandwidth requirements.
AR Cloud
Persistent spatial computing layer for anchoring digital content to physical world
Edge Rendering
Distributed GPU clusters for real-time 3D rendering and streaming
Volumetric Capture
3D capture, compression, and streaming of real-world objects and people
XR Infrastructure Calculator
Infrastructure Analysis
Infrastructure needs significant improvement for production XR workloads.
AR Cloud & Spatial Computing
Spatial Anchoring
- • Persistent world-scale coordinate systems
- • Visual-inertial odometry (VIO) fusion
- • Cross-platform anchor sharing protocols
- • Multi-user spatial synchronization
Occlusion Mapping
- • Real-time depth sensing and fusion
- • Semantic scene understanding
- • Dynamic object tracking
- • Physics-aware content placement
Content Distribution
- • Spatial content delivery networks
- • Level-of-detail (LOD) streaming
- • Predictive content pre-loading
- • Bandwidth-adaptive quality scaling
Privacy & Security
- • Homomorphic spatial computation
- • Federated learning for mapping
- • Zero-knowledge location proofs
- • Biometric data protection
Implementation Examples
AR Cloud Spatial Anchor Service
import numpy as np
import asyncio
from typing import Dict, List, Tuple, Optional
from dataclasses import dataclass
from scipy.spatial.transform import Rotation
import uuid
import time
@dataclass
class SpatialAnchor:
id: str
position: np.ndarray # 3D world position
orientation: np.ndarray # Quaternion
confidence: float
timestamp: float
creator_id: str
shared: bool = False
expiry_time: Optional[float] = None
@dataclass
class SpatialQuery:
position: np.ndarray
radius: float
max_results: int = 50
min_confidence: float = 0.7
class ARCloudSpatialService:
def __init__(self, grid_size: float = 10.0):
self.grid_size = grid_size
self.spatial_grid: Dict[Tuple[int, int, int], List[SpatialAnchor]] = {}
self.anchors: Dict[str, SpatialAnchor] = {}
self.user_sessions: Dict[str, Dict] = {}
def _get_grid_cell(self, position: np.ndarray) -> Tuple[int, int, int]:
"""Convert world position to spatial grid cell"""
return tuple((position / self.grid_size).astype(int))
def _get_nearby_cells(self, center_cell: Tuple[int, int, int],
radius: int = 1) -> List[Tuple[int, int, int]]:
"""Get all grid cells within radius of center cell"""
cells = []
cx, cy, cz = center_cell
for dx in range(-radius, radius + 1):
for dy in range(-radius, radius + 1):
for dz in range(-radius, radius + 1):
cells.append((cx + dx, cy + dy, cz + dz))
return cells
async def create_anchor(self, position: np.ndarray, orientation: np.ndarray,
confidence: float, creator_id: str,
shared: bool = False, ttl_hours: Optional[float] = None) -> str:
"""Create a new spatial anchor"""
anchor_id = str(uuid.uuid4())
current_time = time.time()
expiry_time = None
if ttl_hours:
expiry_time = current_time + (ttl_hours * 3600)
anchor = SpatialAnchor(
id=anchor_id,
position=position,
orientation=orientation,
confidence=confidence,
timestamp=current_time,
creator_id=creator_id,
shared=shared,
expiry_time=expiry_time
)
# Store in main registry
self.anchors[anchor_id] = anchor
# Add to spatial grid for efficient queries
grid_cell = self._get_grid_cell(position)
if grid_cell not in self.spatial_grid:
self.spatial_grid[grid_cell] = []
self.spatial_grid[grid_cell].append(anchor)
return anchor_id
async def query_anchors(self, query: SpatialQuery,
user_id: str) -> List[SpatialAnchor]:
"""Query spatial anchors near a given position"""
results = []
center_cell = self._get_grid_cell(query.position)
# Calculate search radius in grid cells
search_radius = int(np.ceil(query.radius / self.grid_size))
nearby_cells = self._get_nearby_cells(center_cell, search_radius)
for cell in nearby_cells:
if cell in self.spatial_grid:
for anchor in self.spatial_grid[cell]:
# Skip expired anchors
if (anchor.expiry_time and
time.time() > anchor.expiry_time):
continue
# Skip private anchors from other users
if not anchor.shared and anchor.creator_id != user_id:
continue
# Check distance constraint
distance = np.linalg.norm(anchor.position - query.position)
if distance <= query.radius:
# Check confidence constraint
if anchor.confidence >= query.min_confidence:
results.append((anchor, distance))
# Sort by distance and apply limit
results.sort(key=lambda x: x[1])
return [anchor for anchor, _ in results[:query.max_results]]
async def update_anchor_pose(self, anchor_id: str, user_id: str,
new_position: np.ndarray,
new_orientation: np.ndarray,
confidence: float) -> bool:
"""Update anchor pose with collaborative refinement"""
if anchor_id not in self.anchors:
return False
anchor = self.anchors[anchor_id]
# Only owner or high-confidence updates allowed
if (anchor.creator_id != user_id and
confidence <= anchor.confidence + 0.1):
return False
# Remove from old grid cell
old_cell = self._get_grid_cell(anchor.position)
if old_cell in self.spatial_grid:
self.spatial_grid[old_cell].remove(anchor)
# Update anchor
anchor.position = new_position
anchor.orientation = new_orientation
anchor.confidence = max(anchor.confidence, confidence)
anchor.timestamp = time.time()
# Add to new grid cell
new_cell = self._get_grid_cell(new_position)
if new_cell not in self.spatial_grid:
self.spatial_grid[new_cell] = []
self.spatial_grid[new_cell].append(anchor)
return True
async def create_shared_space(self, anchors: List[str],
space_name: str, creator_id: str) -> str:
"""Create a shared spatial context from multiple anchors"""
space_id = str(uuid.uuid4())
# Validate all anchors exist and are accessible
space_anchors = []
for anchor_id in anchors:
if anchor_id in self.anchors:
anchor = self.anchors[anchor_id]
if anchor.shared or anchor.creator_id == creator_id:
space_anchors.append(anchor)
if not space_anchors:
raise ValueError("No valid anchors for shared space")
# Calculate space centroid and bounds
positions = np.array([anchor.position for anchor in space_anchors])
centroid = np.mean(positions, axis=0)
bounds_radius = np.max(np.linalg.norm(positions - centroid, axis=1))
# Store shared space metadata
space_metadata = {
'id': space_id,
'name': space_name,
'creator_id': creator_id,
'anchor_ids': anchors,
'centroid': centroid,
'radius': bounds_radius,
'created_at': time.time(),
'active_users': set()
}
return space_id
def calculate_pose_interpolation(self, anchor1: SpatialAnchor,
anchor2: SpatialAnchor,
user_position: np.ndarray) -> Tuple[np.ndarray, np.ndarray]:
"""Interpolate pose between two anchors based on user position"""
# Calculate weights based on distance
dist1 = np.linalg.norm(user_position - anchor1.position)
dist2 = np.linalg.norm(user_position - anchor2.position)
total_dist = dist1 + dist2
if total_dist == 0:
return anchor1.position, anchor1.orientation
w1 = dist2 / total_dist # Inverse distance weighting
w2 = dist1 / total_dist
# Interpolate position
interpolated_position = w1 * anchor1.position + w2 * anchor2.position
# Interpolate orientation using SLERP
q1 = Rotation.from_quat(anchor1.orientation)
q2 = Rotation.from_quat(anchor2.orientation)
# Spherical linear interpolation
interpolated_rotation = q1.slerp(q2, w2)
interpolated_orientation = interpolated_rotation.as_quat()
return interpolated_position, interpolated_orientation
async def cleanup_expired_anchors(self):
"""Remove expired anchors from the system"""
current_time = time.time()
expired_anchors = []
for anchor_id, anchor in self.anchors.items():
if anchor.expiry_time and current_time > anchor.expiry_time:
expired_anchors.append(anchor_id)
for anchor_id in expired_anchors:
anchor = self.anchors[anchor_id]
# Remove from spatial grid
grid_cell = self._get_grid_cell(anchor.position)
if grid_cell in self.spatial_grid:
self.spatial_grid[grid_cell].remove(anchor)
# Clean up empty cells
if not self.spatial_grid[grid_cell]:
del self.spatial_grid[grid_cell]
# Remove from main registry
del self.anchors[anchor_id]
return len(expired_anchors)
# Usage example
async def demonstrate_ar_cloud():
ar_cloud = ARCloudSpatialService(grid_size=5.0)
# Create some spatial anchors
anchor1_id = await ar_cloud.create_anchor(
position=np.array([10.0, 2.0, 5.0]),
orientation=np.array([0, 0, 0, 1]), # Identity quaternion
confidence=0.85,
creator_id="user123",
shared=True
)
anchor2_id = await ar_cloud.create_anchor(
position=np.array([15.0, 2.5, 8.0]),
orientation=np.array([0, 0.1, 0, 0.995]),
confidence=0.92,
creator_id="user456",
shared=True
)
# Query nearby anchors
query = SpatialQuery(
position=np.array([12.0, 2.2, 6.0]),
radius=10.0,
max_results=10
)
nearby_anchors = await ar_cloud.query_anchors(query, "user789")
print(f"Found {len(nearby_anchors)} nearby anchors")
# Demonstrate pose interpolation
user_pos = np.array([12.5, 2.1, 6.5])
if len(nearby_anchors) >= 2:
interpolated_pos, interpolated_orient = ar_cloud.calculate_pose_interpolation(
nearby_anchors[0], nearby_anchors[1], user_pos
)
print(f"Interpolated position: {interpolated_pos}")
# Clean up expired anchors
expired_count = await ar_cloud.cleanup_expired_anchors()
print(f"Cleaned up {expired_count} expired anchors")
if __name__ == "__main__":
asyncio.run(demonstrate_ar_cloud())
Edge Rendering Pipeline
import WebSocket from 'ws';
import { EventEmitter } from 'events';
interface RenderRequest {
sessionId: string;
userId: string;
viewMatrix: number[];
projectionMatrix: number[];
frustum: Frustum;
timestamp: number;
qualityProfile: QualityProfile;
}
interface QualityProfile {
targetFrameRate: number;
maxLatency: number;
resolutionScale: number;
lodBias: number;
enableRayTracing: boolean;
enableFoveation: boolean;
}
interface Frustum {
left: number;
right: number;
top: number;
bottom: number;
near: number;
far: number;
}
interface RenderNode {
id: string;
location: string;
gpuCount: number;
gpuMemory: number;
currentLoad: number;
latency: number;
isAvailable: boolean;
}
class EdgeRenderingService extends EventEmitter {
private renderNodes: Map<string, RenderNode> = new Map();
private activeSessions: Map<string, RenderSession> = new Map();
private loadBalancer: RenderLoadBalancer;
private qualityManager: AdaptiveQualityManager;
constructor() {
super();
this.loadBalancer = new RenderLoadBalancer();
this.qualityManager = new AdaptiveQualityManager();
this.startHealthChecks();
}
async processRenderRequest(request: RenderRequest): Promise<void> {
try {
// Get or create session
let session = this.activeSessions.get(request.sessionId);
if (!session) {
session = await this.createRenderSession(request.sessionId, request.userId);
this.activeSessions.set(request.sessionId, session);
}
// Update session state
session.updateViewState(request.viewMatrix, request.projectionMatrix);
session.updateQualityProfile(request.qualityProfile);
// Select optimal render node
const renderNode = await this.loadBalancer.selectRenderNode(
request.userId,
session.requirements
);
if (!renderNode) {
throw new Error('No available render nodes');
}
// Perform culling and LOD selection
const renderData = await this.performCulling(
session.sceneGraph,
request.frustum,
request.qualityProfile
);
// Submit render job
const renderJob = await this.submitRenderJob(
renderNode,
renderData,
request.qualityProfile
);
// Stream results back to client
await this.streamRenderResults(session, renderJob);
} catch (error) {
console.error('Render request failed:', error);
this.handleRenderError(request.sessionId, error as Error);
}
}
private async createRenderSession(sessionId: string, userId: string): Promise<RenderSession> {
const session = new RenderSession(sessionId, userId);
// Initialize session with user's spatial context
await session.loadSpatialContext();
await session.loadContentAssets();
// Set up quality adaptation
this.qualityManager.initializeSession(session);
return session;
}
private async performCulling(
sceneGraph: SceneNode[],
frustum: Frustum,
qualityProfile: QualityProfile
): Promise<RenderBatch> {
const visibleObjects: RenderObject[] = [];
const lodCalculator = new LODCalculator(qualityProfile.lodBias);
for (const node of sceneGraph) {
// Frustum culling
if (this.isInFrustum(node.boundingBox, frustum)) {
// Occlusion culling (simplified)
if (!this.isOccluded(node)) {
// LOD selection
const lod = lodCalculator.calculateLOD(
node.position,
frustum,
node.lodLevels
);
visibleObjects.push({
node,
lod,
priority: this.calculateRenderPriority(node, frustum)
});
}
}
}
// Sort by priority for rendering optimization
visibleObjects.sort((a, b) => b.priority - a.priority);
return {
objects: visibleObjects,
lightData: this.gatherLightData(frustum),
materialData: this.gatherMaterialData(visibleObjects),
timestamp: Date.now()
};
}
private async submitRenderJob(
renderNode: RenderNode,
renderData: RenderBatch,
qualityProfile: QualityProfile
): Promise<RenderJob> {
const renderCommand = {
id: this.generateJobId(),
nodeId: renderNode.id,
renderData,
qualityProfile,
timestamp: Date.now()
};
// Send render command to selected node
const renderJob = await this.sendRenderCommand(renderNode, renderCommand);
// Track job performance
renderJob.startTime = Date.now();
return renderJob;
}
private async streamRenderResults(session: RenderSession, renderJob: RenderJob): Promise<void> {
const stream = renderJob.getResultStream();
stream.on('frame', (frameData: FrameData) => {
// Apply post-processing if needed
const processedFrame = this.applyPostProcessing(
frameData,
session.postProcessingSettings
);
// Encode for streaming
const encodedFrame = this.encodeFrame(
processedFrame,
session.encodingSettings
);
// Send to client
session.sendFrame(encodedFrame);
// Update quality metrics
this.qualityManager.recordFrameMetrics(session.id, {
renderTime: Date.now() - renderJob.startTime,
frameSize: encodedFrame.length,
quality: frameData.quality
});
});
stream.on('complete', () => {
this.qualityManager.onRenderComplete(session.id);
});
stream.on('error', (error: Error) => {
this.handleRenderError(session.id, error);
});
}
private startHealthChecks(): void {
setInterval(async () => {
const healthChecks = Array.from(this.renderNodes.values()).map(
node => this.checkNodeHealth(node)
);
await Promise.allSettled(healthChecks);
}, 5000); // Check every 5 seconds
}
private async checkNodeHealth(node: RenderNode): Promise<void> {
try {
const startTime = Date.now();
const healthStatus = await this.pingRenderNode(node.id);
const latency = Date.now() - startTime;
node.latency = latency;
node.currentLoad = healthStatus.cpuUsage;
node.isAvailable = healthStatus.isHealthy;
if (!healthStatus.isHealthy) {
console.warn(`Render node ${node.id} is unhealthy`);
this.failoverSessions(node.id);
}
} catch (error) {
console.error(`Health check failed for node ${node.id}:`, error);
node.isAvailable = false;
this.failoverSessions(node.id);
}
}
private async failoverSessions(failedNodeId: string): Promise<void> {
const affectedSessions = Array.from(this.activeSessions.values())
.filter(session => session.renderNodeId === failedNodeId);
for (const session of affectedSessions) {
try {
// Find alternative render node
const alternativeNode = await this.loadBalancer.selectRenderNode(
session.userId,
session.requirements,
[failedNodeId] // Exclude failed node
);
if (alternativeNode) {
await session.migrateToNode(alternativeNode.id);
console.log(`Migrated session ${session.id} to node ${alternativeNode.id}`);
} else {
console.error(`No alternative node available for session ${session.id}`);
session.terminate('No available render nodes');
}
} catch (error) {
console.error(`Failover failed for session ${session.id}:`, error);
session.terminate('Failover failed');
}
}
}
// Helper methods
private isInFrustum(boundingBox: BoundingBox, frustum: Frustum): boolean {
// Frustum culling implementation
return true; // Simplified
}
private isOccluded(node: SceneNode): boolean {
// Occlusion culling implementation
return false; // Simplified
}
private calculateRenderPriority(node: SceneNode, frustum: Frustum): number {
// Calculate priority based on distance, size, and importance
const distance = this.calculateDistance(node.position, frustum);
const size = node.boundingBox.getSize();
const importance = node.renderPriority || 1.0;
return (importance * size) / Math.max(distance, 1.0);
}
private generateJobId(): string {
return `job_${Date.now()}_${Math.random().toString(36).substr(2, 9)}`;
}
private gatherLightData(frustum: Frustum): LightData {
// Gather relevant lighting information
return { lights: [], shadowMaps: [] };
}
private gatherMaterialData(objects: RenderObject[]): MaterialData {
// Gather material and texture data
return { materials: [], textures: [] };
}
private applyPostProcessing(
frameData: FrameData,
settings: PostProcessingSettings
): ProcessedFrameData {
// Apply tone mapping, anti-aliasing, etc.
return frameData as ProcessedFrameData;
}
private encodeFrame(
frameData: ProcessedFrameData,
settings: EncodingSettings
): EncodedFrame {
// Encode frame for streaming
return { data: Buffer.alloc(0), metadata: {} } as EncodedFrame;
}
private handleRenderError(sessionId: string, error: Error): void {
const session = this.activeSessions.get(sessionId);
if (session) {
session.handleError(error);
}
this.emit('renderError', { sessionId, error });
}
}
class RenderLoadBalancer {
async selectRenderNode(
userId: string,
requirements: RenderRequirements,
excludeNodes: string[] = []
): Promise<RenderNode | null> {
// Implement load balancing logic
return null; // Simplified
}
}
class AdaptiveQualityManager {
initializeSession(session: RenderSession): void {
// Initialize quality adaptation for session
}
recordFrameMetrics(sessionId: string, metrics: FrameMetrics): void {
// Record performance metrics
}
onRenderComplete(sessionId: string): void {
// Handle render completion
}
}
// Type definitions
interface RenderSession {
id: string;
userId: string;
renderNodeId?: string;
requirements: RenderRequirements;
sceneGraph: SceneNode[];
postProcessingSettings: PostProcessingSettings;
encodingSettings: EncodingSettings;
updateViewState(viewMatrix: number[], projectionMatrix: number[]): void;
updateQualityProfile(profile: QualityProfile): void;
loadSpatialContext(): Promise<void>;
loadContentAssets(): Promise<void>;
sendFrame(frame: EncodedFrame): void;
migrateToNode(nodeId: string): Promise<void>;
terminate(reason: string): void;
handleError(error: Error): void;
}
interface RenderRequirements {
minGpuMemory: number;
preferredLatency: number;
requiredFeatures: string[];
}
export { EdgeRenderingService };
Real-World Implementations
Magic Leap Cloud
Enterprise AR cloud platform with persistent spatial anchors and collaborative experiences.
- • 10,000+ concurrent AR sessions supported
- • Sub-10ms motion-to-photon latency
- • Cross-platform spatial anchor sharing
- • 99.5% spatial tracking accuracy
NVIDIA Omniverse
Real-time collaboration platform with cloud rendering and USD-based content pipeline.
- • Distributed rendering across 500+ GPUs
- • Real-time ray tracing for VR/AR
- • 4K@60fps streaming to mobile devices
- • Multi-user virtual workspaces
Meta Horizon
Metaverse infrastructure supporting millions of concurrent VR users with social features.
- • 100+ million VR sessions monthly
- • Edge-based avatars and physics simulation
- • Spatial audio for 64 concurrent users
- • Cross-reality content synchronization
8th Wall WebAR
Browser-based AR platform with cloud-based computer vision and content delivery.
- • 1 billion+ AR experiences delivered
- • SLAM tracking without app downloads
- • Global CDN with 15ms average latency
- • WebGL-based rendering pipeline
Best Practices
✅ Do
- ✓Implement edge computing for sub-20ms latency
- ✓Use predictive pre-loading based on user movement
- ✓Implement adaptive quality based on device capabilities
- ✓Design for cross-platform spatial anchor compatibility
- ✓Use occlusion and frustum culling for performance
- ✓Implement graceful degradation for network issues
❌ Don't
- ✗Ignore motion-to-photon latency requirements
- ✗Process all rendering on central cloud servers
- ✗Store sensitive biometric data without encryption
- ✗Use fixed quality settings across all devices
- ✗Neglect battery optimization for mobile XR
- ✗Assume reliable high-bandwidth connectivity