RealityKit helper functions for visionOS

In the spirit of collaboration and knowledge sharing, I've decided to open source a selection of helper functions that I've developed during my journey of creating the first visionOS experience using RealityKit.

Outline Mesh Generation

DoubleSided materials

Skeleton Visualization

yourEntity?.visualizeBones()

All extension functions for RealityKit Entity

• visualizeBones(size: Float = 0.5)

  • Visualizes the bones of a model entity by creating a debug entity with a cone mesh representing each bone.

• createEntityBox(_ color: UIColor, size: Float) -> Entity

  • Creates a box-shaped entity with the specified color and size.

• update(shaderGraphMaterial oldMaterial: ShaderGraphMaterial, _ handler: (inout ShaderGraphMaterial) throws -> Void) rethrows

  • Updates the shader graph material of the entity by applying the changes defined in the handler closure.

• replaceAndStoreOldMaterials(material: Material, copyPBRInputs: Bool = false)

  • Replaces the current materials of the entity with a new material and optionally copies the inputs from the physically based rendering (PBR) materials.

• restoreOriginalMaterials()

  • Restores the original materials of the entity that were saved before replacement.

• saveMaterialParam(paramName: String)

  • Saves the parameter value of the shader graph material with the given name.

• getMaterialParam(paramName: String) -> MaterialParameters.Value?

  • Retrieves the value of the material parameter with the given name.

• setMaterialParamWeight(paramName: String, value: Float)

  • Sets the weight of the material parameter with the given name, multiplying it by the saved value if it exists.

• setMaterialParam(paramName: String, value: MaterialParameters.Value)

  • Sets the value of the material parameter with the given name.

• playAllAnimations(shouldLoop: Bool = false)

  • Plays all available animations for the entity, with an option to loop them indefinitely.

• distance(from other: Entity) -> Float

  • Calculates the distance between the entity and another entity.

• distance(from point: SIMD3<Float>) -> Float

  • Calculates the distance between the entity and a point in 3D space.

• isDistanceWithinThreshold(from other: Entity, max: Float) -> Bool

  • Checks if the distance between the entity and another entity is within a specified threshold.

• isDistanceWithinThreshold(from point: SIMD3<Float>, max: Float) -> Bool

  • Checks if the distance between the entity and a point in 3D space is within a specified threshold.

• findParentWithName(_ findName: String) -> Entity?

  • Searches for a parent entity with the specified name.

• findParentWithAnyComponents(withComponents componentClasses: [Component.Type]) -> Entity?

  • Searches for a parent entity that has any of the specified components.

• findParentWithComponent<T: Component>(withComponent componentClass: T.Type) -> Entity?

  • Searches for a parent entity that has the specified component type.

• findFirstComponent<T: Component>(withComponent componentClass: T.Type) -> T?

  • Searches for the first component of the specified type in the entity hierarchy.

• hasComponentInHierarchy<T: Component>(withComponent componentClass: T.Type) -> Bool

  • Checks if any entity in the hierarchy has the specified component type.

• forEachDescendant<T: Component>(withComponent componentClass: T.Type, _ closure: (Entity, T) -> Void)

  • Iterates over all descendants with the specified component type and performs the given closure.

• forEach<T: Component>(withComponent componentClass: T.Type, _ closure: (Entity, T) -> Void)

  • Iterates over the entity and its children with the specified component type and performs the given closure.

• removeComponentFromHierarchy(componentType: Component.Type)

  • Removes the specified component type from the entity and its descendants.

• fixObjectPivot() -> Entity?

  • Fixes the pivot of the entity by creating a new entity at the visual center and re-parenting the original entity to it.

• generateCollisionsForEnabledOnly()

  • Generates collision shapes for the entity and its children if they are enabled.

• generatePreciseCollisionsForEachEnabled<T: Component>(withComponent componentClass: T.Type) async

  • Asynchronously generates precise collision shapes for each enabled entity with the specified component type.

• generatePreciseCollisionShapes() async

  • Asynchronously generates precise collision shapes for the entity if it is enabled.

• stopEmittingParticleEmitters()

  • Stops all particle emitters from emitting particles in the entity hierarchy.

• removeAllParticleEmitters()

  • Removes all particle emitter components from the entity hierarchy.

• playAllParticles()

  • Starts emitting particles for all particle emitters in the entity hierarchy.

• addMeshOutline(outlineMaterial: RealityKit.Material, offset: Float)

  • Adds an outline to the mesh of the entity using the specified material and offset.

• makeMeshResourcesUnique()

  • Makes the mesh resources of the entity unique to avoid sharing them with other entities.

• addDoubleSide()

  • Adds double-sided rendering to the entity's mesh.

• addDoubleSide(otherSideMaterial: RealityKit.Material, ignoreComponentTypes: [Component.Type]?)

  • Adds double-sided rendering to the entity's mesh with the specified material for the other side, ignoring entities with specified component types.