Varjo Unveils ‘Teleport’ Service for Effortless Real-World Scanning into VR

Varjo, known for its top-tier XR headsets, recently unveiled an innovative smartphone-based 3D scanning tool for businesses that’s designed to quickly generate hyper-realistic spaces. This new offering caters to both virtual reality and more traditional screen views.

Named Teleport, this subscription-based app allows users to capture and render real-world settings in just 5 to 10 minutes, a considerable improvement over the usual photogrammetry techniques. The app is compatible with iOS devices running version 17 or later, including a wide range of gadgets from the iPhone XR to newer models, as well as the 8th generation iPad and those released afterwards.

The resulting “digital twins” are versatile; they can be navigated on smartphones, computers, or explored using Varjo’s XR headsets and other leading VR headsets. Teleport leverages advancements in Gaussian Splatting alongside NVIDIA’s GPU-trained generative models. The 3D models are processed in the cloud and delivered on the device, meaning users only need internet connectivity for the initial model download—not for the exploration.

This service is available for $30 monthly, with Varjo currently offering a seven-day free trial. By signing up, users gain access to a variety of captures at no charge through a web viewer, available in both standard and high-definition, while the desktop client allows access to captures in the finest quality.

Teleport’s introduction has coincided with the expansion of Varjo’s Series D funding round, attracting new investors like Beyond Capital, Nishikawa Communications, and NVIDIA. Although Varjo hasn’t disclosed the specific amount raised, they did mention this brings their total funding to around €180 million or approximately $188 million USD.

Varjo plans to direct these funds towards boosting the adoption of their XR hardware and software for industrial uses. CEO Timo Toikkanen highlighted that Varjo intends to harness AI and machine learning technologies to more deeply integrate real and virtual environments, thereby enhancing productivity and efficiency for industrial users.

On a similar note, Meta is developing a comparable consumer-focused tool called Horizon Hyperscape, which was revealed in September. Initially released as a demo to highlight Meta’s aspirations for photorealism, the vision includes a feature for creators to “build worlds within Horizon by scanning a room with a phone and recreating it,” though it’s unclear when this service will be commercially available.