01 Spatial computing · AR · Gaussian splatting
Persistent AR
Stateful worlds, built on a phone.
The question
What would it take for anyone to build a spatial world on a phone — and find it exactly where they left it?
- Role
- Co-founder; creative and product direction; creator tools
- Years
- 2022–2026
- With
- H3M
- Status
- Beta
- Disciplines
- Spatial computing, AR, Gaussian splatting, Voice
- Constraint
- Edge devices: a phone’s compute and thermal limits, and no guarantee of a network.
In the world
Portals, placed in the real world.
Eight recordings on location: world-scale anchoring, portal components, characters, particle effects and gameplay mechanics.Portals experiences, recorded on locationEight recordings of Portals experiences placed in real locations, supplied by Ryan Brant: the recordings as made, silent here. Names and marks that appear in them belong to their owners.
01World-scale anchoringBuilding-sized 3D structures stay locked to a real street as the camera moves around them. 02Detail at close rangeRope, foliage and ornament stay sharp and in place as the camera closes in. 03Animated characters, stagedAnimated characters with attached particle effects walk a placed stage above a plaza. 04Portal component: doorwayA doorway joins a real shop floor to a full AR world, and the camera crosses between the two. 05Facade-scale signage and effectsBuilding-anchored 3D signage, particle bursts and flying objects, ending on a call to action. 06Portal component: shaped openingA custom-shaped opening in a real wall shows a 3D scene with parallax; elements cross its edge. 07Live puppeteeringA real person drives an AR character live; it stays grounded on the floor with a cast shadow. 08Gameplay mechanicsA guided trail leads along a real street to an encounter: projectiles, hit effects, callouts.
Method
01/04
Speak, paint, and place: spatial brushes, particles, splat worlds, and templates on an iPhone.
Spatial painting
02/04
XRAI stores a scene as the rules that produced it — compact, portable, and replayable. Ryan’s concept, co-developed with James Tunick.
XRAI, drawn: invented figures
03/04
Scenes save as one file, placed relative to an anchor you tap, and reopen intact — for you or anyone you share them with. GPS puts them on the map.
Persistence, drawn: not a recording
04/04
Gaussian-splat environments, live VFX, and volumetric performers — designed to run on a phone.
Splat environments
Results
- CVPR 2026Portals: Persistent, Editable 4D Spatial World Models on Edge DevicesTunick, Brant, Pennock, Kasowski. Ryan is second author.Open source (opens in a new tab)Workshop paper on persistent, editable 4D world models — second author.
- Patent pendingSystems and Methods for Intent-Based Persistent Spatial World Models on Edge DevicesProvisional application under 35 U.S.C. §111(b); patent pending. Inventors: Tunick, Brant, Pennock, Kasowski.Intent-based persistent spatial world models on edge devices.
Carried forward
Store the intent, not the output — then a world can travel across sessions, devices, and people.
Credits
- Ryan BrantCo-founder; creative and product direction; three.js/R3F composer, creator experience, Game Lab, world generation; XRAI concept
- James A. TunickCo-author and co-inventor; XRAI co-developer
- Jacob D. PennockCo-author and co-inventor
- Justin KasowskiCo-author and co-inventor