Mixed Reality Toolkit (MRTK) is an

open-source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use and view the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open source model is a decentrali ...

software development kit (SDK) developed by

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

in 2016 for the development of

mixed reality Augmented reality (AR), also known as mixed reality (MR), is a technology that overlays real-time 3D computer graphics, 3D-rendered computer graphics onto a portion of the real world through a display, such as a handheld device or head-mounted ...

(MR) and

augmented reality Augmented reality (AR), also known as mixed reality (MR), is a technology that overlays real-time 3D computer graphics, 3D-rendered computer graphics onto a portion of the real world through a display, such as a handheld device or head-mounted ...

(AR) software applications. It consists of a collection of

components Component may refer to: In engineering, science, and technology Generic systems *System components, an entity with discrete structure, such as an assembly or software module, within a system considered at a particular level of analysis * Lumped e ...

and features designed to enhance the mixed reality user and developer experiences. The toolkit was originally developed by Microsoft for the release of the HoloLens 1 augmented reality headset, although it supports a variety of platforms.

History

Initial release

Known as the "HoloToolkit" (HTK) prior to its initial public release, the

software development kit A software development kit (SDK) is a collection of software development tools in one installable package. They facilitate the creation of applications by having a compiler, debugger and sometimes a software framework. They are normally specific t ...

was created to aid in the development of the new Microsoft HoloLens augmented reality device. Mixed Reality Toolkit was released to the public as an open-source SDK in December 2017, one year after the release of Microsoft's HoloLens. The software has had multiple successful generations, including MRTK, MRTK2, and the soon-to-be-released MRTK3. HoloLens 2

Layoffs

On January 18, 2023, Microsoft announced that it would be laying off approximately 10,000 employees. Days later, these layoffs were found to include the entire team behind the development of MRTK, along with significant portions of the HoloLens hardware team. Currently, the future of MRTK is uncertain, although it is expected that the

extended reality Extended reality (XR) is both an umbrella term to refer to and interpolate between augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), and virtual reality (VR), as well as to extrapolate (extend) beyond these, e.g. allowing us to see sound waves, rad ...

(XR) community will continue to maintain the software due to it being released as open-source under the

MIT License The MIT License is a permissive software license originating at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the late 1980s. As a permissive license, it puts very few restrictions on reuse and therefore has high license compatibility. Unl ...

Supported platforms

Mixed Reality Toolkit is considered to be a platform-agnostic tool as it features a wide variety of supported platforms. This high level of compatibility allows developers to quickly and easily build mixed reality applications tailored to the specific platform they are working on. The following is a list of supported platforms:

Components and features

Mixed Reality Toolkit is equipped with a range of components and features that allow developers to create immersive mixed reality applications. These provide developers with a broad range of tools and technologies, including low-level

API An application programming interface (API) is a connection between computers or between computer programs. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how to build ...

s, and high-level development frameworks. These components and features are designed to be used in combination with additional

software libraries In computing, a library is a collection of resources that can be leveraged during software development to implement a computer program. Commonly, a library consists of executable code such as compiled functions and classes, or a library can ...

to create engaging and interactive mixed reality experiences. MRTK contains UX building block components, which include buttons, object manipulators, system keyboards, object collections, and more. These

tools A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ...

are provided to developers with the intention of simplifying the development process and encouraging innovation in mixed reality.

References

External links

MRTK2-Unity Developer Dokumentation - MRTK 2 (Microsoft Learn)
* {{Microsoft FOSS 2017 software Augmented reality Mixed reality Microsoft free software Software using the MIT license