We are excited to launch mixed reality capabilities in Power Apps, bringing digital productivity to the physical world.

Power Apps is being used by thousands of organizations to digitize and automate existing business processes. The low-code application development platform allows everyone, from the professional developer to the firstline worker, to quickly build apps that help improve their business.

Today we are excited to announce new mixed reality capabilities coming soon to Power Apps! With these new features, Power Apps is one of the first low-code no-code platforms that makes it possible for everyone to build mixed reality applications.

Products such as Microsoft Dynamics 365 Remote Assist and Dynamics 365 Guides have already demonstrated the impact mixed reality can have on the productivity of first line workers. While many organizations are investing heavily in building bespoke mixed reality applications for their businesses, these investments currently require hiring dozens of specialized developers working for many months to create applications.

With hundreds of millions of Augmented Reality capable mobile devices in the hands of business users, every maker will be able to leverage the power of mixed reality to extend their Power Apps with the ease of drag-and-drop development. With these new capabilities, makers can start to digitize workflows in physical space in new and innovative ways using tools they are already familiar with.

Bring the power of mixed reality to Power Apps with the ease of drag-and-drop development.

 

New Capabilities

Below are the key new mixed reality features we will be introducing in Power Apps:

Validate fit before work begins

When you are working in the real world, you need to understand physical spaces. Now in Power Apps you will be able to use 3D models or virtual volumetric representations to find out if a pathway is large enough; if the product will fit or how placement might impact line of sight.

Take measurements

When your workflow requires understanding dimensions of the physical world, you will be able to take linear or volumetric measurements directly through the Power App. Use the results to kick off automated processes or store these back into your data source.

Communicate better with 3D models

When you need to visualize how products will look in a space, you will be able to bring 3D models into Power Apps. Leverage the Common Data Service to store these models as native data types (similar to images) or use existing data connectors to access models from other locations such as SharePoint and One Drive. Your users will be able to view and interact with 3D models, place them in the real world, and take a photo of the scene to share with others.

Communicate better with 2D models

If you don’t have 3D models – no problem. They are not the only way to leverage mixed reality. Traditional images like jpgs and pngs can also be placed in the real world to help visualize how a product might exist in that space.

What early adopters are saying

Our customers are already experimenting with these capabilities in field sales: helping their customers imagine what their sites will look like after the project; validating product placement; increasing sales conversion, and reducing miscommunication. Field sellers are also able to capture photos of 3D objects placed in the context of the physical world to more quickly create a shared understanding.

Custom Air Products and Services is a full-service HVAC company that specializes in the design, construction, installation, modification, and servicing of industrial and commercial air conditioning equipment. Each of their projects are unique to the demands of the customer, as different buildings and locations require different solutions. They currently use CAD software to create 3D models of their products. With Power Apps, they are now able to include the 3D models in their Product Catalog app, and are able to visualize how these HVAC systems will fit at the customer site. They are also looking into how mixed reality can help reduce the time and cost of physical prototyping during the product development cycle.

G&J Pepsi, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, has more than 1,600 employees focused on manufacturing, distributing, and marketing the full line of Pepsi-Cola products. They see mixed reality in Power Apps as a tool to visualize placement of promotional materials and refrigeration equipment at vendor sites. G&J Pepsi is looking to empower their field service agents while out on location and are eager to embrace alternative methods by using 2D images in mixed reality to communicate a vision.

Now available

We are confident that mixed reality will unlock tremendous value for your businesses and we are excited to be on this journey together with you. These capabilities are now available in public preview. You can immediately start experimenting with these capabilities in your organization by enabling the mixed reality features in your app settings. More details in our documentation.

To learn more about these and other exciting new features on the Power Platform watch the Microsoft Business Applications Virtual Launch Event.