Lightship

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Build real-world augmented reality experiences with a comprehensive spatial development platform.

Game Engines AR/VR Development

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TL;DR - Lightship

Develop augmented reality experiences anchored to real-world locations.
Utilize advanced AR effects like depth, occlusion, and object detection.
Achieve centimeter-level accuracy for digital content placement in the physical world.

Pricing: Free plan available

Best for: Growing teams

Pros & Cons

Pros

Enables highly accurate real-world content placement.
Provides advanced AR effects that work on various devices, not just LiDAR-equipped ones.
Offers tools for real-time understanding and interaction with the physical environment.
Seamlessly integrates with AR Foundation projects.

Cons

The platform is undergoing migration to a new domain, which may require project updates.
Lightship.dev will be decommissioned, necessitating a move to scaniverse.nianticspatial.com.

Ratings Across the Web

3.5(3 reviews)

G23 reviews

3.5/5

Ratings aggregated from independent review platforms. Learn more

Key Features

Visual Positioning System (VPS) for centimeter-level accuracyWorld Pose System (WPS) for 3D geographic positioningReal-time depth sensing for AR contentOcclusion for realistic content groundingMeshing for understanding physical world geometryScene Segmentation to recognize physical environmentsObject Detection to identify real-world objects

Pricing Plans

Free Trial

Free

1 user
1 project
100 MB storage
Basic features

Basic

$10/month

5 users
5 projects
1 GB storage
Advanced features

Pro

$25/month

Unlimited users
Unlimited projects
10 GB storage
All features
Priority support

Calculate your cost View full pricing

What is Lightship?

Editorial review

Niantic Spatial Platform, powered by Lightship, is a robust SDK designed for Unity developers to create immersive augmented reality (AR) experiences that interact with the real world. It provides advanced tools for precise real-world localization, enabling developers to anchor virtual content to specific geographic locations with centimeter-level accuracy using its Visual Positioning System (VPS) and World Pose System (WPS). The platform also offers sophisticated AR effects that enhance the realism of virtual content. These include real-time depth sensing, occlusion, and meshing capabilities that work across various devices, even those without LiDAR. Additionally, it features scene segmentation and object detection to allow AR content to intelligently interact with and understand the physical environment. Niantic Spatial is ideal for developers looking to build next-generation AR applications that blend digital and physical realities seamlessly.

LCLouis CorneloupUpdated May 18, 2026 · how we evaluateSourcelightship.dev ↗

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Lightship FAQ

What is the future of Lightship.dev?

Lightship.dev will be decommissioned on February 27, 2026. All projects should migrate to scaniverse.nianticspatial.com starting February 20, 2026.

How does the Niantic Spatial Platform achieve real-world localization?

The platform uses a Visual Positioning System (VPS) for centimeter-level accuracy and a World Pose System (WPS) to understand a user's 3D position and orientation in geographic coordinates, allowing experiences to be anchored to specific real-world locations.

Are LiDAR-equipped devices required for AR effects like depth and occlusion?

No, the Niantic Spatial Platform's Depth, Occlusion, and Meshing features work on any device, regardless of LiDAR capability, and can operate at greater distances than LiDAR-based AR.

What kind of AR effects can be implemented with the Niantic Spatial Platform?

Developers can implement a range of AR effects including real-time depth sensing, occlusion, meshing, scene segmentation to recognize physical environments, and object detection to identify real-world objects.

Source: lightship.dev