Niantic and 8th Wall, an AR development platform, introduced hand tracking to 8th Wall's AR toolkit. The new feature, available to 8th Wall developers, allows the creation of AR applications that can recognize and respond to hand and wrist movements.

The hand-tracking tool includes a proprietary hand model with 36 attachment points across the palm, knuckles, wrist, and fingers, providing developers with precise control over the positioning of AR items on the hand. It also features an adaptive hand mesh that conforms to the shape of the user's real hand. This allows users to interact with AR objects as if they were real, move and alter objects, and even "try on" real-world objects within the app. Developers can access the hand-tracking feature by cloning a sample project in the library.

Analyst QuickTake : The addition of hand tracking to 8th Wall's AR toolkit in partnership with Niantic represents a significant advancement in the AR development space, with the company having shifted its focus to developer tools from AR game creation . For developers, this opens up new possibilities for creating engaging and interactive AR experiences, potentially leading to the development of more sophisticated AR applications, including games, educational tools, and virtual product try-ons.